Aviation News Item: 06319

13th Mar 2010

Source: aviationweek.com

The Senate last week finally renewed consideration of comprehensive FAA reauthorization legislation after a series of holds and other non-aviation issues held up consideration for nearly two years and forced a series of short-term extensions of the agency's funding authority and the aviation excise taxes. The latest extension is set to expire at the end of the month, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has made full Senate action on the bill a priority.

Debate began on Wednesday, but no votes were taken. Consideration is expected to resume this week. Senate leaders used some last-minute maneuvering to bring the bill to the floor to work around potential holds from senators objecting to a labor clause in the House-passed FAA reauthorization bill that involved FedEx.

Senate leaders resurrected an unrelated tax bill that had passed the House to serve as the vehicle for the FAA reauthorization bill. Since tax bills must originate in the House, this enabled the Senate to begin consideration of long-term FAA reauthorization (which has tax provisions in it) without having to use the House-passed version of reauthorization.

Once passed though, the bill must enter a House/Senate conference, where House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) would still have the opportunity to negotiate over the House provisions. Oberstar has stressed that he would fight for the FedEx clause.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) last week introduced a "manager's amendment" that includes the provisions of S.1451, the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act, which passed his committee in July.

The measure would authorize FAA funding, increasing investment in NextGen, and addresses a range of safety, research, environmental, consumer protection and other issues. The aviation fuel taxes would be extended through 2013, and the tax on jet fuel would increase to 35.9 cents per gallon.

Senators last week lined up to attach amendments - some aviation related, others not - to the bill. But Rockefeller and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), who is the ranking Republican on the Commerce Committee, urged their colleagues to refrain from offering non-germane amendments.

"It is in the interest of the traveling public that we start on the glide path to passing this bill," said Hutchison. "We need to make progress on amendments … The FAA reauthorization is not a legislative vehicle that can carry a lot of highly controversial provisions."

Rockefeller added "This is kind of a feast, I guess, for some who want to bring all their frustrations about government and put them into the aviation authorization bill, but it is so frustrating because we have been working on this for so long." Hutchison warned that negotiations over FAA reauthorization have not been easy and that extraneous amendments, no matter the substance, could kill the bill.

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) echoed his backing for passage, noting the need to support aviation in light of the economic woes of the industry. He noted aviation employees in Wichita were 40,000 strong when the bill was last debated on the Senate floor, but have now shrunk to just more than 25,000. He also pointed out the industry's backing of the increase on aviation fuel taxes. "I cannot recall a time when any industry has come to me and said, 'We want to help and we are willing to support an increase - 65 percent, by the way - in our taxes to do so,' but that is exactly what the general aviation community did."

Aviation leaders in Washington were pleased by the renewed debate on the bill last week. Paul Feldman, vice president of government affairs for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, said it was encouraging that Senate leaders have now placed a priority on the bill's passage. "We'll all be disappointed at the end if they're not able to get a bill passed," he said.

By Kerry Lynch (kerry_lynch@aviationweek.com) and

Adrian Schofield (Adrian_schofield@aviationweek.com)

Photo credit: Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority

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