Deadline For Full Senate Approval And Reconciliation Is September 30

The U.S. Senate version of a long-term FAA reauthorization bill has been sitting idle since being approved by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in June. And if the full Senate does not take action by September 30, a sixth short-term extension will have to be approved by the U.S. Congress to keep the FAA operating.

Roll Call reports that Senate leaders appear to not want to take a lot of time talking about the bill. Both Senator John Thune (R-SD), the committee chair, and Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), the senior Democrat on the panel, have lobbied for a time agreement that would limit the time allowed for debate and the number of amendments that could be added to the legislation. But such an agreement requires "unanimous consent" in the Senate, and there are a few Senators who want a more extensive debate.

Some of those amendments include one related to trucking labor law, an autonomous vehicles bill, and some tax policies.

Over on the House side of the building, Congressman Peter DeFazio (R-OR) said Senators are trying to negotiate for as many as 90 floor amendments which have not been approved for addition to the bill reported out of the committee.

Representative Bill Shuster (R-PA) Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, told Roll Call that he and Senator Thune have agreed that there will not be another short-term extension to fund the FAA.

For his part, Senator Thune said that this current round of extensions, along with those that have kept the agency going in the past, makes Senators view FAA funding as an issue that is not a high priority. Thune said that if another extension is necessary, he would advocate for a short-term bill that would fund the FAA through the end of December 2018.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report