Bolen: Senate Bill 'Includes Important, Targeted Solutions'

The NBAA has issued a Call to Action urging its members to support a recently introduced U.S. Senate bill to reauthorize the FAA and modernize the nation's aviation system.

In his Call to Action, NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen noted that the Senate legislation “includes many important, targeted solutions designed to ensure the United States remains the world leader in aviation five, 10 and 25 years from now. Equally important, the bill recognizes that the nation’s airports and airspace operate in the public interest, and should serve the public, including all aviation stakeholders and the citizens and communities they serve."

The Senate bill (S.2658), Bolen said, reflects many priorities identified by NBAA, including measures to streamline the certification process for aviation technologies, raise the bar on aviation safety, integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the National Airspace System, accelerate implementation of a Next Generation (“NextGen”) air traffic management system and provide a plan for the U.S. Department of Transportation to modernize third-class medical requirements for small-aircraft pilots.

The bill also rejects privatizing the air traffic control (ATC) system, a risky scheme proposed in FAA reauthorization legislation pending in the House of Representatives. The House FAA reauthorization bill, H.R.4441, which is being promoted by most of the big airlines, calls for a privatized ATC system to be funded through new user fees and overseen by an airline-centric board of directors.

“By contacting your members of Congress today on this issue, we can call upon lawmakers to say ‘yes’ to smart FAA reauthorization and modernization, and ‘no’ to a distracting and unneeded debate over ATC privatization,” Bolen continued. “I urge you to notify your legislators today of your support for S.2658.”

NBAA will continue to call upon people in the industry to make their voices heard with legislators in regard to developments taking place in the FAA reauthorization debate. To do so, visit NBAA’s online Contact Congress resource.

(Source: NBAA news release. Image from file)

FMI: www.nbaa.org