October 12, 2018 – The newly enacted FAA reauthorization mandates 18 new or expedited federal regulations.
October 5, 2018 – 4:30 p.m. – President Trump has signed the new Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill (H.R.
October 5, 2018 – The staffs of the House and Senate transportation committees are going to be doing a lot of reading over the next three years. The new Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, which President Trump will sign into law later today, requires various entities (mostly, but not always, the FAA) to submit 119 new reports to Congress in the coming years.
October 3, 2018 – The FAA reauthorization directly addresses the agency’s critical role in certification in order to ensure public confidence in the safety of the system for business and leisure travel. With the industry changing rapidly as new technologies come online, the federal certification process needs to be more flexible and agile.
September 28, 2018 – The House of Representatives has passed the final compromise five-year, $96.7 billion aviation reauthorization bill by a landslide vote of 398 to 23. However, the pending Supreme Court nomination has thrown enough uncertainty into the Senate floor schedule that one last short-term extension of aviation funding, taxes and programs, through October 7, is necessary.
September 26, 2018 – The following is a summary overview of the aviation and surface transportation security provisions of the compromise legislation to be considered by Congress this week.
The following is an overview of the final compromise FAA reauthorization bill released in the wee hours of September 22, broken down into five areas: funding authorizations, airline customer service, aviation safety, airports, and unmanned aviation systems. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has released a more detailed section-by-section summary of the bill here.
Saturday, September 22, 2018 (3:45 a.m.) – Just before 1 a.m. on Saturday morning, the House Majority Leader’s office posted online the text of a five-year, $96.7 billion aviation reauthorization bill that the House is scheduled to consider at mid-day on Wednesday, September 26 as a House amendment to a Senate amendment to an unrelated bill (H.R 302). The legislative text is here and a couple of pages of bullet points of the highlights is here.
September 21, 2018 – √
September 20, 2018 – Last Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration hosted a conference, “Aviation Workforce Symposium: Ensuring America’s Pilot and Mechanic Supply”. Eno was on site at the event, which featured speakers representing the federal government, industry groups, the military, educational institutions, and private airlines.
September 12, 2018 – As the aviation industry innovates with vessels of all shapes, sizes, and uses, the House Transportation and Infrastructure aviation subcommittee assembled a panel of industry and government witnesses on Sep. 6 to discuss progress toward integrating all these moving (and flying) parts into the National Airspace System (NAS).
September 6, 2018 – On Wednesday, less than one week before the 17th anniversary of September 11, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held a hearing to assess challenges and progress in the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) aviation security efforts.
September 5, 2018 – The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved Wednesday two transportation-related nominees and a bill to streamline Department of Transportation reporting requirements.
September 6, 2018 – The leaders of the House and Senate transportation committees told reporters this week that they are working to “pre-conference” their disagreements on the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill (H.R. 4/S. 1405). The House passed its bill on April 27 but the Senate has been unable to bring its own version of the bill to the floor.
August 24, 2018 – Hopes that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill (H.R. 3/S. 1405) might finally come to the Senate floor before the end of August took a nose dive earlier this week when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) filed what may be a record number of cloture petitions on Trump Administration nominees.
August 23, 2018 – Praised by both sides of the aisle as an “exemplary leader” who is “uniquely qualified for the position,” Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs Joel Szabat had an easy time at his nomination hearing Thursday to become the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.
August 17, 2018 – The U.S. Senate came back to Washington this week but did not take any steps to move the FAA reauthorization bill forward.
August 3, 2018 – The Senate adjourned for a 14-day recess this week without taking action on a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill. However, behind-the-scenes negotiations are ongoing, and action on the bill (S. 1405) is still possible in late August.
August 2, 2018 – On July 31, President Trump announced his intention to nominate longtime USDOT senior staffer Joel Szabat as Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Aviation and International Affairs.
July 27, 2018 – Although behind-the-scenes negotiations on the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill (S. 1405) continued this week, the press of other business has made it unlikely that the legislation will make it to the Senate floor next week. And with the Senate scheduled to take a recess the week after that, the earliest that the bill could make it to the floor is likely mid-August.