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Another contentious issue potentially blocking passage of a long-term FAA authorization bill was dropped by its sponsor. Senator John Thune (R-SD), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, apparently withdrew a controversial provision from the Senate version of the FAA funding legislation that would have reduced the amount of training needed for pilots to become first officers for US airlines. Thune's proposal would have allowed pilots to count activities other than actual flight hours towards the 1,500-hour requirement for an airline job. Elon Musk told an audience at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, TX that he expects to be flying "short"