With a little more than a month left before the Senate and House enjoy their August recess, the clock is ticking for FAA reauthorization. The agency’s current deal will expire at the end of September, and so both the House and Senate are seeking to pass long-term plans that would finally solve, or at least begin to solve, some of the real issues affecting U.S. aviation. The most prominent issue has been ATC privatization, which is backed by President Donald Trump and was included in the House’s 21st Century Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act, introduced by Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) on Wednesday.
Senate’s FAA Reauthorization Bill Met with Support from Aviation Groups
Key Takeaways:
- The House and Senate have introduced competing bills for FAA reauthorization, with the House bill proposing air traffic control (ATC) privatization, a plan backed by President Trump.
- The Senate's bill explicitly rejects ATC privatization, instead focusing on enhancing safety, improving the existing FAA-managed system, strengthening rural access, and implementing new consumer protections.
- Major aviation groups, including AOPA, EAA, NBAA, and NATA, strongly oppose the House's privatization plan and have endorsed the Senate's non-privatization approach.
- The NATCA (air traffic controllers union) supports the House bill, citing career security, but remains open to other non-profit FAA reauthorization proposals.
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