The comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill sailed through the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday by a 351 to 69 vote, but the path through the Senate remains unclear. The vote on the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act (H.R.3935) came after lawmakers agreed to strip out a measure to provide credit for simulator time toward the 1,500-flight-hour requisite for commercial airline pilots and voted down an effort to add slots to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA). However, the bill retained a measure to up the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots to 67.
Underscoring the bipartisanship of the House bill, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee released a statement representing the Republican and Democrat leadership on both the full committee and aviation subcommittee praising the House passage. With an eye on trying to meet the September 30 deadline for FAA reauthorization, the leaders had carefully crafted a compromise bill that could be acceptable to both sides of the aisle.
“This good faith process yielded a bipartisan bill that will create a safer, cleaner, greener, and more accessible U.S. aviation system,” said Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Washington), the ranking member of the full committee. T&I chair Sam Graves (R-Missouri) echoed those sentiments: “This bipartisan legislation improves the safety of our system, our airport infrastructure, and the quality of service for passengers.”
The leaders also touted the benefits of the bills such as workforce initiatives, the focus on general aviation, and efforts to foster advanced air mobility. These and other initiatives drew support from across the industry, many of which released statements yesterday praising the House passage.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) president and CEO Pete Bunce said, “The Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act provides a strong foundation to set a positive trajectory for the FAA at a critical time for the agency,” and Helicopter Association International (HAI) president and CEO James Viola added: “This sweeping bill seeks to address the pilot shortage, streamlines the agency’s regulatory processes, addresses beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, and, most importantly, includes many provisions that will improve safety and training.” Viola further called the legislation forward-looking, allowing the FAA to adapt more quickly to innovation and backing general aviation.
NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen said, “We thank Chairman Sam Graves and Ranking Member Rick Larsen for their vision, commitment to bipartisanship, and willingness to work with stakeholders to address the challenges facing the national airspace system and reinforce the United States as the global leader in aviation.” National Air Transportation Association (NATA) president Curt Castagna similarly noted that the bill “has remained focused on consensus policies that improve the safety, security, efficiency, innovation, and sustained success of our nation’s aviation ecosystem."
While the House this week removed and/or avoided the two measures that have staunch opposition in the Senate—changes to the 1,500-hour rule and slots at KDCA—those issues appear to remain sticking points in the upper chamber. The Senate Commerce Committee in June scratched a meeting to consider those points from the bill after lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement on each issue.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), a champion of the 1,500-hour rule, reportedly indicated a willingness to compromise on raising the retirement in place of alerting the minimum hours required for commercial airline pilots—something being pushed by Sen. John Thune (R-South Dakota). Reinforcing her stance on the minimum hours, she proposed a measure that would not only keep that requirement in place but would up the training requisites for pilots.
With no action in committee yet, it appears that consideration by the full Senate will push into September, past the August recess, providing little time for the House and Senate to hash out the differences between their bills before the current FAA authorization expires. This increases the possibility that a short-term extension may be raised, something lawmakers had hoped to avoid.
While the Senate bill remains under consideration, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association continues to push for greater visibility into airport fees charged to pilots. Noting an amendment on the issue was blocked. In the House, the association urged pilots to continue to reach out to push for changes.
“Many airports and smaller FBOs don’t charge fees and if they do, they are often fair and reasonable. Like most pilots, I am willing to pay fees, but let’s not allow for monopolistic practices that limit access to public-use airports by requiring pilots to pay a private business that imposes unfair and unreasonable fees,” said AOPA president Mark Baker.
The provision in the House, and on the drawing board in the Senate, however, has drawn opposition from the Airports Council International, American Association of Airport Executives, as well as GAMA, HAI, NATA, and NBAA, which expressed concerns that the language could burden airports.