Bill Sent To President Obama For His Signature

Numerous ANN Real-Time Updates Throughout Afternoon of 02.06.12: House and Senate conferees have given final approval to a long-term funding bill for the FAA, and sent it on to President Obama for his signature.

The "FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012" authorizes $63.3 billion for FAA programs through 2015. The measure retains, at existing levels, the proven, efficient and effective fuel tax as the means for general aviation to pay for its use of the aviation system, in lieu of new user fees. The reauthorization package also reflects a commitment to make the Next Generation Air Traffic System ("NextGen") a reality.

Aviation organizations were quick to praise the conferees for their work. "This legislation will ensure our aviation infrastructure has the investment needed to keep the U.S. air transportation system the largest, safest and most efficient in the world," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "This four-year reauthorization provides the FAA with the roadmap to implement a Next Generation Air Traffic System, so that we will be able to meet America's aviation needs of today and tomorrow. We thank leaders in both the Senate and House for their continued commitment to getting an FAA reauthorization completed."

General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) President and CEO Pete Bunce (pictured)  remarked, “This bill has been over four years in the making and its enactment finally enables the agency to make long-term spending decisions and move forward on important initiatives.   The policies contained in this bill are critical to the health of general aviation manufacturing.  We support this bill because it will contribute to modernizing the air traffic management system, improving aviation safety, and promoting economic growth and job creation.”

The bill lays out a clear direction for the next generation air traffic system and ensures that there will be accountability for progress through the establishment of critically needed performance metrics.  The measure also endorses important improvements in the FAA certification process to enable new aviation products to reach markets without unnecessary delay. Finally, the bill strengthens FAA’s international leadership by establishing a risk-based safety oversight system for foreign repair stations to improve safety and enhance cooperation with other aviation officials around the globe.

Bunce concluded, “As the bill makes its way to President Obama’s desk, GAMA would like to thank congressional and committee leaders and their staffs in both chambers for their bipartisan efforts.  We would also like to thank the leaders and members of the House and Senate general aviation caucuses for their steadfast support.”

Of particular interest to members of the Aircraft Electronics Association, the bill recommends an advisory panel be created consisting of government and industry representatives to study concerns from industry that the FAA's Aircraft Certification and Flight Standards District Offices routinely make inconsistent rulings and interpretations on certification policies and applications.

A portion of the reauthorization legislation includes language on annual safety inspections of foreign repair stations, including the establishment of a safety assessment system for Part 145 repair stations that dictates inspections by FAA personnel based on risk. The new system will accept inspection results conducted by foreign aviation authorities under a bilateral maintenance agreement. The legislation also requires the Department of Transportation to work with international regulatory agencies to create standards for drug and alcohol testing for foreign repair station workers, while abiding with the laws of the countries in which FAA certificated repair stations are located.
 
"We commend Congress for listening to the AEA and other industry participants who supported giving the FAA the authority and flexibility to assign its auditing resources based on a risk assessment, rather than the originally proposed fixed scheduled audits, in conducting foreign repair station inspections," said Paula Derks, AEA president. "This mandate will support the FAA's ability to focus its limited resources on high-risk facilities and operations, while being able to reduce its audits on proven faculties and operations.

"We also commend Congress on recognizing the sovereignty of the countries supporting the U.S. aircraft in their mandates for anti-drug and anti-alcohol programs. In finding the balance between the need for safe and secure air carrier maintenance and the sovereign rights of the foreign mechanics, Congress has mandated a reasonable approach that provides an equivalent and appropriate level of safety."

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) President & CEO Michael Toscano said, “UAS are truly a revolutionary-type technology, and I’m confident that once people can fly UAS in the national airspace for civil and commercial purposes, such as oil and pipeline monitoring, crop dusting, and search and rescue, a whole new industry will emerge, inventing products and accomplishing tasks we haven’t even thought of yet.”

Prior to today's Senate vote, the Congress had passed 23 temporary extensions to keep the FAA operating for most of the last 52 months.

FMI: www.house.gov, www.senate.gov