Sent To The House On A 95-3 Vote

The U.S. Senate has passed and sent to the U.S. House an FAA reauthorization bill that does not include the House's controversial plan to privatize Air Traffic Control ... and the leadership of the Senate Commerce Committee passed along a subtle warning to House leaders about the plan after the vote.

The vote on the bill was 95-3 in the Senate. U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-SD), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), ranking Democrat on the committee, released statements on the Senate’s bipartisan passage of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2016 on the committee website. The bill was introduced as S. 2658 and merged with a previously-unrelated House bill, H.R. 636, for Senate passage.
 
The bill reauthorizes the FAA through fiscal year 2017 and includes provisions to help passengers, strengthen aviation security, and provide for safer operation of drones. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, which has already been working on a companion FAA proposal.
 
“This legislation does more to enhance security against the threat of terrorism and help frustrated passengers than any proposal in recent history,” said Thune. “We should not delay action on security enhancements in this bill or public safety benefits from the proper management of drones. The FAA bill answers these challenges while providing passengers with more options when airlines don’t deliver.”
 
“We’ve given the House a good bi-partisan blueprint to follow and one that they ought to pass easily,” said Nelson. “Adding controversial measures could put the bill in jeopardy and result in a big loss for consumers and for the safety of the flying public.”

(Source: Senate Commerce Committee news release. Images from file. Sen. Thune [left] and Sen. Nelson [right])

FMI: www.commerce.senate.gov