Reauthorization of Federal Aviation Programs: Action in the 114th Congress

Reauthorization of Federal Aviation Programs: Action in the 114th Congress

On April 19, the Senate passed H.R. 636 to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), other civil aviation programs, and Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) revenues through September 30, 2017. The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives, where a six-year FAA reauthorization bill, H.R. 4441, and a related bill on aviation research, H.R. 4489, were marked up and ordered reported by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, respectively, on February 11. Proposed authorization amounts and comparisons to FY2016 appropriations and the Obama Administration's FY2017 request are presented in Table 1. As H.R. 4441 and H.R. 4489 have not been reported, these comparisons are based on those bills as introduced.

Table 1. FAA Major Account Funding Authorization and Appropriations

(dollars in millions)

FY2016

FY2017

FY2018

FY2019

FY2020

FY2021

FY2022

Operations

H.R. 4441

9,910

10,112

10,339

10,570

1,637

1,675

1,713

General Fund

1,988

2,055

2,124

2,196

1,637

1,675

1,713

AATF

7,922

8,057

8,215

8,374

Senate-Passed

9,910

10,025

Appropriation/Request

9,909

9,994

Airport Improvement Program

H.R. 4441

3,350

3,424

3,499

3,576

3,655

3,735

3,817

Senate-Passed

3,350

3,750

Appropriation/Request

3,350

2,900

Facilities and Equipment

H.R. 4441

2,855

2,914

2,981

3,048

193

197

202

Senate-Passed

2,855

2,862

Appropriation/Request

2,855

2,838

Research, Engineering, and Development

H.R. 4489

166

169

173

174

Senate-Passed

166

169

Appropriation/Request

166

168

TOTALS

House-Introduced

16,281

16,619

16,992

17,368

5,485

5,607

5,732

Senate-Passed

16,281

16,806

Appropriation/Request

16,281

15,900

Source: CRS analysis of H.R. 4441 and H.R. 4489 as introduced; Senate-passed H.R. 636; P. L. 114-113, Division L; and FAA Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Estimates.

Notes: House totals for FY2020-2022 do not include Research, Engineering, and Development authorizations as they were not specified in H.R. 4489 as introduced. Also House totals for FY2020-2022 do not include trust fund amounts for operations as the House bill proposes creation of a separate corporation to provide air traffic services that would be funded by user fees set by the corporate board.

The Senate-passed bill and the two committee-approved House bills have substantial differences:

H.R. 4441 would create a government-chartered not-for-profit air traffic control (ATC) corporation that would assume FAA's air traffic operations at the beginning of FY2020. FAA ATC facilities and equipment would be transferred to the corporation free of charge, and FAA controllers and ATC technicians would become employees of the corporation. A board of directors, selected by industry and labor stakeholders, would oversee the corporation and fund it with user fees assessed on commercial aircraft. The Senate-passed bill has no similar provision.

Both H.R. 4441 and the Senate-passed bill deal extensively with unmanned aircraft. The Senate measure includes more extensive language addressing privacy and data collection. Both include language to improve tracking of drones and management of low altitude airspace. The Senate also includes more specific enforcement language and would require FAA to establish a regulatory framework for drone delivery services within two years of enactment.

The Senate-passed bill would require FAA to demonstrate its readiness to receive satellite-based aircraft tracking data by 2018. It would also require FAA to address the cybersecurity of NextGen, the satellite-based ATC system now under development, and to implement contingency plans for data outages at ATC facilities. In contrast, H.R. 4441 would transfer NextGen responsibilities to the proposed ATC corporation.

Both measures would require FAA to revisit NextGen navigation procedures near large airports to address complaints about noise. H.R. 4441 would also direct FAA to review its community involvement practices regarding NextGen implementation in metropolitan areas.

Both H.R. 4441 and the Senate-passed bill seek reform to medical certification of private pilots. Both measures would require pilot medical familiarization courses every 24 months. While H.R. 4441 would allow pilots holding valid drivers' licenses to fly, the Senate-passed bill would additionally require comprehensive medical exams by a qualified medical provider of the pilot's choosing every 48 months. Currently, private pilots must obtain medical certification from FAA-designated physicians every 60 months if under age 40 or every 24 months otherwise.

Both H.R. 4441 and the Senate-passed bill would expand the State Block Grant Program, under which Airport Improvement Program funds for non-primary airports are sent to participating states rather than directly to airports. The Senate measure protects Airport Improvement Program grants to airports whose annual passenger enplanements have fallen below 10,000 since 2012. This provision would benefit about 24 airports through FY2017. The Senate also introduces a prohibition against new state or local taxes on businesses at airports unless the revenue is used for airport or aeronautical purposes.

Both H.R. 4441 and the Senate-passed bill include requirements for airlines and ticket agents to inform customers about consumer complaint procedures; to improve online access to consumer protection information and complaint forms; to refund baggage fees for delayed checked baggage; and to allow young children to sit next to an older member of their party. Both bills would prohibit cell phone voice communications and use of e-cigarettes in flight. Both require establishment of lactation rooms at medium and large hub airports.

Both H.R. 4441 and the Senate-passed bill would require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to adopt international standards regarding aircraft shipments of lithium batteries and would form a working group to study lithium battery safety. Both measures, however, would generally prohibit regulations that are more stringent than international standards, keeping in force a restriction imposed in 2012 under P.L. 112-95, Section 828. The House measure would prohibit additional regulation unless backed by credible reports that lithium batteries substantially contributed to the initiation or propagation of an onboard fire.

H.R. 4441 would reverse a DOT rule and permit air carriers to advertise base airfares, instead of full fares, as long as advertisements and websites clearly and separately disclose taxes and fees and total cost. The Senate-passed bill would require DOT to issue regulations directing airlines to disclose fees in a standardized format.