Over the weekend, the House and Senate released separate FAA Reauthorization bills and scheduled committee mark-ups for this week. Although vastly different, both bills include NATA proposals to address FAA backlogs related to 135 certification, check pilot functions, and aircraft conformity, as well as aviation workforce development.
In the House, Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Sam Graves (R, MO) and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D, WA) committed to a bipartisan process with Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Garrett Graves (R, LA) and Ranking Member Steve Cohen (D, TN) – a commitment the committee upheld during the first round of mark-up today. The House bill includes multiple provisions to improve FAA processes, such as creation of an FAA ombudsman to provide impartial dispute mediation, increased FAA/stakeholder engagement during the rulemaking process, and national coordination of designated pilot examiners. With the first-ever GA title, the House bill raises the profile of general aviation and makes increased investments in GA airports.
In the Senate, NATA is pleased with the bill’s treatment of part 135 concerns but opposes language establishing airport grant assurances tied to so-called FBO price and fee transparency. NATA worked with Senators Deb Fischer (R, NE) and Gary Peters (D, MI) to introduce a bipartisan amendment striking the provision, which would establish troubling precedent for FAA regulation of FBOs and burden airport sponsors. Equally troubling is an amendment introduced by Senator Ted Budd (R, NC) that would require publicly obligated airports to provide transient parking on or near the existing apron; mandate that any fee charged must be “fair, reasonable, transparent” and “exclude any hidden or extraneous costs;” and require airports and FBOs to allow free access between the apron and the outside perimeter. This language amounts to an unfunded mandate and raises a host of safety, security, and economic concerns for both airports and FBOs.
In the coming days, NATA will continue to analyze the bills’ impacts on our members, monitor ongoing developments, and provide targeted communications to NATA members for outreach to key lawmakers.