A six-month extension of the bill funding the Federal Aviation Administration should provide enough certainty for the continuation of Airport Improvement Program grants that fund capital projects at airports across the U.S., according to an official from the American Association of Airport Executives.
AAAE and Airports Council International-North America released a joint statement welcoming news that Congress had passed the six-month extension. The FAA’s current authorization was scheduled to expire Sept. 30.
“The U.S. airport industry applauds today’s congressional action to extend Federal Aviation Administration authorization at full funding levels for the next six months, and we look forward to President Obama signing the measure as quickly as possible,” the statement reads. “While today’s action is certainly important in ensuring continued federal funding for airport infrastructure projects in the short term, airports need a long-term solution that provides them with the self-help they need to meet growing infrastructure development needs.”
The House passed its extension bill Monday; the Senate followed suit Tuesday. The measure now awaits Obama’s signature.
AAAE and ACI-NA have been working together to build a coalition of organizations who support increasing the passenger facility charge cap, currently set at $4.50, to $8.50, as part of negotiations on the next FAA reauthorization bill.
But the PFC is getting caught up in negotiations, as lawmakers discuss several major changes to how the industry is financed. One such proposal would remove air traffic control out of the FAA’s purview by creating a privatized or corporatized non-profit agency to run it.
An extension of the current bill had been just about a foregone conclusion since July, when U.S. House Republican leaders opted to delay introducing their version of a bill until at least September. As of Tuesday, that bill had still not been introduced.
Industry leaders had been calling on Congress to implement at least a six-month extension so the delay would not prevent the FAA from doling out grants.
Joel Bacon, AAAE’s executive vice president for government and public affairs, told ARN six months would be the shortest-term extension possible under which the FAA would not be likely to interrupt its grant making process. Both organizations have previously said such an interruption would cause havoc on airports trying to get projects completed.
The current bill was passed in 2012 after 23 temporary extensions of the previous bill, which had originally been scheduled to expire in 2009. Debate during that effort included a two-week partial shutdown of the FAA in 2011.
