House approves FAA reauthorization bill

The House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for five years.

The measure — formally titled the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act — passed in a bipartisan 351-69 vote. It now heads to the Senate, where lawmakers are considering their bill to reauthorize the FAA.

Lawmakers in both chambers will have to hash out differences between the legislation by Sept. 30, when the current FAA authorization terminates.

“H.R. 3935 is critical to keeping America the global leader in aviation,” Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) said during debate on the House floor Wednesday. 

“It’s vital to our economy, to millions of American jobs, and to the 850 million passengers that depend on our National Airspace System every year,” he continued. “If Congress fails to act on a new long-term aviation measure by Sept. 30, when the current FAA law expires, key aviation programs will cease to function.”

The legislation authorizes $4 billion per fiscal year for the Airport Improvement Program, directs the FAA administrator to draw up a plan to expand the agency’s capacity to train air traffic controllers, clarifies language related to ticket refunds for passengers, and addresses safety on runways, among other tenets.

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More coverage related to the FAA bill from The Hill

• House rejects aviation bill amendment to add flights at DCA
• Sports leagues urge lawmakers to keep rule banning flights over sports stadiums
• Manchin comes out against longer flights from Reagan National Airport

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Its approval in the House comes against the backdrop of recent snafus for the aviation industry, including a high number of delays and cancellations and staffing shortages following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Final passage of the bill came after lawmakers voted down a number of controversial amendments to the measure Wednesday night, which threatened to decrease support for the entire package.

At the top of that list was a proposal from Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) that sought to add seven daily roundtrip flips at Reagan Washington National Airport, which emerged as the most closely-watched amendments in the FAA reauthorization debate — and was ultimately rejected by lawmakers.

The amendment spurred a tense debate on Capitol Hill that divided lawmakers based on geographic location rather than political ideology: Lawmakers close to the D.C. area advocated against the expansion of flights, citing congestion, and those from the South and West championed the addition. Airlines also got involved: Delta Airlines, for example, voiced support for adding flights to National Airport while United pushed against it.

The chamber voted down the measure in a 229-205 vote.

“The defeat of this amendment is a win for our region, for my constituents, and for all passengers who value safe and efficient operations at DCA,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said in a statement following Wednesday night’s amendment vote.

Democrats also notched a handful of wins Wednesday night by voting down amendments related to culture-war issues that, if added, could have decreased backing for the measure within the party.

The chamber, for example, rejected a measure from Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) that called for restricting funding for diversity, equity and inclusion officials or training in a 254-181 vote.

An amendment from Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) that sought to clarify that studies of turbulence should focus on weather conditions instead of climate change because “weather is the proximate cause,” was voted down by lawmakers 227-206.

And an amendment from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) that was aimed at requiring airlines to reinstate pilots who were fired or forced to step down because of vaccine mandates did not make it into the bill following a 294-141 vote.