FAA Reauthorization Bill Back In Play

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FAA Reauthorization Bill Back In Play

By Mary Grady , Contributing editor | August 15, 2018

With Congress back in session this week, the fight over FAA
reauthorization has resumed. Thirty-three GA organizations signed a
letter
https://gama.aero/wp-content/uploads...ust-2018-1.pdf
sent to Senate leaders on Wednesday, asking them to get it done. “It
is essential that the FAA is provided long-term authorization for its
activities and programs to maintain and advance the safest, most
efficient aerospace system in the world,” the groups wrote. The last
multiyear authorization bill for the FAA was passed in 2012, and
expired almost three years ago. Since September 2015, the agency has
been operating under a series of short-term extensions.

A recent analysis in Politico noted several contentious issues with
the current bill, including a provision that would prevent states from
setting their own standards for meal and rest breaks for interstate
truckers. Drone advocates also are lobbying against an amendment that
would allow state and local governments to regulate drone deliveries.
The House has already passed its version of a long-term
reauthorization bill, which would last for five years. GA advocates
want the Senate to move soon, so there will be time for the House and
Senate to reach a final agreement by Sept. 30, when the current bill
expires. “There is bipartisan support for moving the FAA bill forward
now,” the groups said in their letter. “The FAA’s success and that of
the aviation system will be significantly enhanced by progress and
passage of a long-term FAA reauthorization bill.”