... but one has to wonder if anyone on Capitol Hill is listening. Specifically, the president of the American Association of Airport Executives yesterday sent a letter to Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV), making a plea to get the FAA reauthorization legislation moving. Best speculation right now coming out of Washington is that the industry will see another continuing resolution come October 1 (the beginning of the feds’ fiscal year).
Says Barclay, “It has been almost two years since Vision 100, the last FAA reauthorization bill, expired. Congress has been unable to pass a multi-year FAA bill since then, and lawmakers have approved a series of short-term extensions instead. Airports appreciate the efforts to extend FAA programs and prevent lapses in aviation excise taxes. However, short-term extensions and uncertain funding levels can be very disruptive to airport executives as they try to plan their construction projects.”
Prevent lapses, indeed. Speaking less politely, it’s nothing short of irresponsible how the U.S. Congress – and the Senate in particular – has allowed the FAA and the airport industry to be steered with a rudder that changes every three months. But then, change is the theme song in Washington these days.
The Senate is unable to act on S. 451, already out of one committee, because the Finance Committee is hung up on health care legislation. That’s the current excuse, anyway.
The good news is that Krys Bart, who heads up the Reno-Tahoe airport, is well-connected politically in Nevada. A call from her to Senator Reid’s office surely would have at least gotten the good senator or one of his aides to open the envelope.
Thanks for reading. jfi