Alliance Applauds Passage of Long-Term FAA Reauthorization H.R. 4
Washington D.C.— Today, the Today, the Alliance for Aviation Across America commended the U.S. House of Representatives for passage of H.R. 4, a multi-year Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Bill. The bill passed by a vote of 393 to 13. The bill passed by a vote of 393 to 13.
“On behalf of smaller airports, general aviation operators, farms, businesses and communities across the country, we commend the U.S. House of Representatives for passing a FAA Reauthorization bill that will encourage long-term investment in important airport improvement projects, preserve access to our aviation system for communities of all sizes, and ensure that we retain Congressional oversight over our air traffic control system,” said Selena Shilad, Executive Director of the Alliance for Aviation Across America.
H.R. 4 would not only ensure long-term funding for our FAA, but it would encourage investment in important ongoing airport projects by funding the Airport Improvement Program through FY2023. It would also support other important priorities such as insulating the FAA registry from future government shutdowns, and supports investments in aviation technical workforce development in light of looming shortages. Perhaps most importantly though, the bill does not include a provision to privatize the air traffic control system, a harmful provision pushed by the commercial airlines which would have removed the air traffic control system from Congressional oversight and placed this system under a board of private interests. These private interests, dominated by the big airlines, would have had broad decision-making power to raise taxes and fees, and to shape the system for their own benefit and to the detriment of thousands of smaller communities and airports around the nation.
“We look forward to working with Congress and other stakeholders to ensure that we preserve consistent investment in the nation’s aviation infrastructure, support modernization of our air traffic control system, and preserve access to our system for communities of all sizes. These priorities will not only ensure that our system remains the best in the world, but also that the thousands of communities, business and farms across the United States that depend on general aviation and local airports can compete globally and retain access to critical services such as law enforcement, medical care, fire-fighting and disaster relief.”
Formed in 2007, the Alliance for Aviation Across America is a non-profit, non-partisan coalition of over 6,300 individuals representing businesses, agricultural groups, FBO’s, small airports, elected officials, charitable organizations, and leading business and aviation groups that support the interest of the general aviation community across various public policy issues.
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