{
  "id": "R43858",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R43858",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 451337,
      "date": "2015-01-29",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T19:34:49.682736",
      "title": "Issues in the Reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)",
      "summary": "The funding authorization for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), included in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-95), expires on September 30, 2015. In addition to setting spending levels, FAA authorization acts typically set policy on a wide range of issues related to civil aviation. This report considers topics that are likely to arise as the 114th Congress debates reauthorization.\nMost FAA programs are financed through the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF), sometimes referred to as the Aviation Trust Fund. The financial health of the AATF, which is funded by a variety of taxes and fees on air transportation, has been a growing concern. Although the trust fund balance is projected to grow in the near term\u2014as AATF revenue continues to rise and airport capital needs are projected to decline\u2014reductions in general fund appropriations to FAA have increased the proportion of FAA funding that is derived from the trust fund. In addition, changes in airline business practices pose a risk to the AATF revenue structure: trust fund revenue is largely dependent on airlines\u2019 ticket sales, and airlines\u2019 increasing use of fees charged for options that may once have been included in the base ticket price, such as checked bags and onboard meals, has reduced the amount of money flowing into the fund.\nOther major issues likely to arise during the reauthorization debate include the following:\nUnmanned aerial vehicles. FAA has failed to issue rules for commercial and government use of drone aircraft within the time directed by the 2012 law, frustrating potential commercial operators. Meanwhile, large numbers of drones have come into use, and there have been numerous reports of near-collisions between drones and manned aircraft.\nAir traffic control privatization. Many commissions over the years have recommended moving responsibility for air traffic control from FAA, a government agency, to either an independent government-owned corporation or a private entity controlled by aviation stakeholders. Delays in implementing the satellite-based NextGen air traffic control system have renewed interest in this possibility.\nEssential Airline Service (EAS). In 2012, Congress attempted to limit the number of localities eligible to participate in this program to subsidize flights to communities that would otherwise lose all commercial airline service, as well as to limit the amount of subsidies per passenger. These efforts were largely unsuccessful.\nAirfare disclosure. The House of Representatives approved a bill in 2014 that would reverse an FAA regulation requiring airlines and website operators to give greater prominence to the final price, including fees and taxes, than to the \u201cbase airfare\u201d charged by the carrier. The Senate did not approve this legislation, but the issue is likely to reappear in the context of FAA reauthorization.\nThis report does not attempt to be comprehensive. Many issues debated prior to passage of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 are not discussed unless further congressional consideration appears probable. Additional issues, not discussed in this report, may arise as Congress moves forward with reauthorization.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 3281,
          "name": "Aviation Policy"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Environmental Policy",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "National Defense",
    "Transportation Policy"
  ]
}