Washington, DC – The Alliance for Aviation Across America commended the approval of an omnibus spending bill, which provides funding, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), through September 30th of this year. The legislation provides more than $16.4 billion for the FAA, including funding for the airport contract tower program at $159 million, and allocates $1.5 million to the FAA to expand the certification program for new technologies.
The omnibus spending bill also provides more than $1 billion for Next Generation Air Transportation Systems (NextGen), and funds the systemwide implementation of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) at $154.8 million.
In response, the Alliance released the following statement:
“We applaud the passage of this legislation, which ensures that important FAA priorities and operations are continually funded, and also invests in important and ongoing upgrades to our air traffic control system. It is also notable that this bill reiterates ongoing concerns about a proposal to privatize and give control over the ATC system to the nation’s big, commercial airlines, at the expense of farms, businesses, and communities in small towns and rural areas across America. This proposal to privatize our nation’s air traffic control system would eliminate Congressional oversight over this vital infrastructure, and as a result, threaten access to and investments in airports and facilities that communities, aircraft and businesses of all sizes depend on for economic activity and a host of important services.”
https://www.ajot.com/news/alliance-on-passage-of-annual-appropriations-bill