Ends String Of 23 Continuing Resolution Funding The Agency

The final piece of the long-term FAA funding puzzle fell into place Tuesday, as President Barack Obama signed the $63.4 billion long-term FAA funding measure hammered out by Congress. The signing brings to an end a string of 23 short-term continuing resolutions which have funded the agency since 2007.

The long-term bill means that the agency can continue to develop the NextGen navigation system in a more stable fiscal environment. NTACA president Paul Rinaldi told the Washington Post that the measure will also allow for the controllers who will eventually direct traffic with NextGen to be involved in its development.

The Hill reported earlier in the week that labor unions were split in their reaction to the bill, with some supporting its passage, some neutral, and some actively campaigning for a veto of the measure.

The measure also sets a September 30, 2015 deadline for full integration of UAS into the national airspace, according to a news release from the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.

The President made no remarks when signing the bill. House After the signing, Transportation Committee chair John Mica (R-FL) said “(f)or four years, Democrats in control of Congress left the nation’s aviation system in the lurch by failing to pass a long-term bill to reform FAA programs and set national aviation policy and priorities. Over the years, Democrats irresponsibly passed 17 short-term extensions of the last FAA law for an industry that accounts for as much as 11% of the nation’s economic activity.
 
“Today we have in place sound multi-year policies that reform FAA programs, eliminate expensive ticket subsidies, modernize our air traffic control system, improve airport infrastructure, reduce air traffic delays, and create jobs,” he said.

The bill also includes a provision requiring the TSA to give airports the option to utilize qualified private screeners under federal supervision.
 
“This initiative restarts a program that the Obama Administration had closed down, allowing private industry to compete to provide screening services at our nation’s airports under strong federal oversight," Mica said. "This has been done successfully at more than a dozen airports in the U.S. for years and is the airport screening model utilized by most developed nations."

FMI: www.whitehouse.gov, http://transportation.house.gov