FAA Shutdown Ends

Last week, President Obama signed into law a bill to extend Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization through Sept. 16, ending a two-week partial shutdown. The Senate – though it went into a month-long summer recess after Tuesday's vote to clear a debt-ceiling bill – held a "pro forma" session to approve the House passed extension legislation by unanimous consent. The shutdown resulted in 4,000 FAA employees being furloughed, 200 FAA funded construction projects being halted and an additional $2.5 billion of Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funded construction projects from moving forward. The lack of authorization also prevented the collection of the airplane ticket tax, which funds the Airport and Airway Trust Fund resulting in a loss of an estimated $400 million in trust fund revenue during the two-week shutdown. The vote, however, does little more than put off the disagreements among lawmakers over the broader reauthorization of the FAA, which has been stalled over labor issues as well as funding levels and subsidies to rural airports. This means the FAA may face a similar shutdown threat when this short-term extension expires on Sept. 16. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) struck the deal with the Administration after AGC, other stakeholders and the general public began questioning why lawmakers were allowing the shutdown to continue while Congress was on break. FAA’s authorization expired on September 30, 2007 and for the ensuing four years has been kept in operation through a series of 20 short term extensions. The extension contains a provision eliminating Essential Air Service (EAS) subsidies for 13 rural airports. Several senators had objected to including that policy change in a short-term authorization extension, but finally agreed to accept it in exchange for a pledge that Transportation Secretary LaHood will use his authority to waive the EAS eliminations, maintaining the status quo for rural airports – except those in Ely, Nevada; Alomogordo, New Mexico; and Glendive, Montana, whose loss of subsidies cannot be waived because they exceed $1,000 per passenger. AGC will continue to work towards passage of a multi-year FAA reauthorization bill. You can send a message to your legislators through AGC’s web site urging Congress to complete action on this long overdue legislation. For more information, please contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.