The U.S. House is set to take up debate on the massive Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 debt ceiling bill that has marked some $4.5 trillion in cuts and savings, including limits on discretionary funding and repeals of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other green-energy tax credits.
Consideration of the bill, which was unveiled last week by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California), is on the House calendar today and on pace for a vote this week. While Republicans work to secure the necessary votes, the bill is likely to die in the Democrat-controlled Senate—at least in its current form.
Even so, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) expressed concern in a letter to members of Congress that the bill would keep fiscal 2024 spending at the 2022 level and cap growth to 1 percent each year for the next decade.
While NATCA noted that the bill does not specify which agencies or programs would be slated for cuts under the funding limits, the controllers union added, “It remains highly likely that the FAA would be subject to an immediate reduction and funding and any future funding would be severely constrained for the next decade.” NATCA expressed concern that such cuts would hobble the FAA similar to sequestration had a decade ago.
The bill also would repeal a slate of green energy tax credits, including most of those passed last year in the Inflation Reduction Act. These included incentives for the production of SAF, measures that had wide aviation industry support.