U.S. Senate and House of Representatives leaders said the final bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for the next five years will head to the Senate floor this week following months of negotiations.
The legislation, a compromise between Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX), and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-MO) and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA), prioritizes investments to strengthen aviation safety standards, enhance consumer protections, advance technology and innovation, and to build the aviation workforce.
“By getting a five-year reauthorization agreement for both FAA and NTSB, Congress is showing that aviation safety and stronger consumer standards are a big priority,” Cantwell said. “More FAA safety inspectors, mandates on near miss technology and 25-hour cockpit voice recorders, and FAA upgrades to its systems ensure the gold standard in safety. It is also the first major upgrade to air traffic controller hiring in decades. Plus, it sets into law for the first time the right to a refund when flights have been cancelled or delayed more than three hours.”
The legislation authorizes more than $105 billion in appropriations for the FAA through 2028, as well as $738 million for the NTSB. The appropriations include $66.7 billion for FAA operations, $17.8 billion for FAA facilities and equipment modernization, $19.35 billion for FAA airport infrastructure improvement grants, and $1.59 billion for FAA research, engineering and development.
“Now more than ever, the FAA needs strong and decisive direction from Congress to ensure America’s aviation system maintains its gold standard, and we have reached a bipartisan, bicameral, comprehensive agreement to do just that,” Cantwell, Cruz, Graves and Larsen said in a joint statement. “The American people deserve nothing less than the safest and most efficient aerospace system in the world, and to that end, our bill provides critical safety enhancements, grows America’s aviation workforce, invests in infrastructure at airports of all sizes, sets clear priorities for advancing innovative aviation solutions, improves the flying public’s travel experience, and ensures a healthy general aviation sector for years to come.”