Industry Support Is Strong For Long-Term Funding For The Agency

Following the announcement late Tuesday that House and Senate negotiators had reached an agreement on a long-term authorization bill for the FAA, several of the industry's organizations were quick to express their support for passage of the measure.

"A4A (Airlines for America) commends the leadership and members of the FAA Reauthorization Conference Committee for reaching agreement on the long-stalled FAA bill. It is great news for aviation, our customers and the 10 million jobs we enable. The bill establishes a much-needed long-term reauthorization that addresses the significant issues that previously blocked the legislation from moving forward. We urge Congress to approve this bill," said A4A President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio.

“Our country’s aviation system, already the world’s safest, needs this bill. It’s been a long time coming; nearly five years in the making. Long-term funding – including vital funds for the NextGen air traffic control system – will lead to safer and more reliable air travel," said NATCA President Paul Rinaldi. "This bill will help the aviation industry sustain over 11 million jobs and continue to contribute $1.2 trillion in economic activity each year. It will also help protect the rights of over 30,000 hard-working aviation safety professionals at the FAA. We urge swift passage of this bill.”

"Thanks to this action, after five years of debate, we can now clearly see the finish line, and final passage on a long-sought reauthorization bill is imminent," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "We thank the leaders on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate who have worked tirelessly to get us to this point. The business aviation community understands that a long-term measure is the best way to ensure that the agency has the guidance needed to pursue long-term initiatives, including implementation of a Next Generation Air Traffic System, and other priorities, so that our aviation system can meet the needs of the future.

FMI: www.airlines.org, www.natca.org, www.nbaa.org