Congress made progress on several aviation bills last week in a flurry of activity before adjourning for the holidays. In the House of Representatives, the Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee unanimously approved six aviation bills, including H.R. 6086, the Aviation Funding Solvency Act. Endorsed by NATA, the legislation would protect essential FAA operations from budgetary impasses by allowing the Agency to draw from the Aviation Insurance Revolving Fund in the event of a federal government shutdown. Read NATA’s letter of support for the Aviation Funding Solvency Act here and the Modern Skies Coalition letter of support here. In addition, the T&I Committee approved the NATA-endorsed Aviation Supply Chain Safety and Security Digitization Act to address counterfeit parts based on recommendations of the Aviation Supply Chain Task Force. Also of note is the Airport Regulatory Relief Act, which would lower the cost of airfield pavement projects at small and rural airports by streamlining the use of state highway specifications in runway construction and resurfacing, and the Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act, which would create a regulatory framework for the return of civil supersonic flight operations in the National Airspace System (NAS). On Wednesday, the Senate passed the bipartisan ROTOR Act by unanimous consent to address conditions that may have contributed to the tragic collision of Flight 5342 and an Army helicopter. NATA is working with bill sponsors to enact measures that can be implemented by business aviation operators to increase aviation safety across the NAS.