The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure recently held a hearing on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reform.
The hearing, “Building a 21st Century Infrastructure for America: Federal Aviation Administration Authorization,” heard the testimony of Elaine Chao, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Between fiscal years 2012 and 2015, approximately
$16 billion annually was spent on the FAA as part of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act. A series of extensions have been approved since 2015. The latest, the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016, expires Sept. 30.
“The upcoming FAA reauthorization provides an opportunity to build on the FAA’s safety record and encourage innovation and creativity,” Chao said. “Despite the FAA’s outstanding safety record, the agency is increasingly challenged to address the quickly evolving needs of the nation’s airspace users.”
A multi-year FAA authorization bill is under consideration.
Topics to be discussed include simplifying the safety certification process, the collection of passenger facility charges to supplement the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, ways to stop the decrease in general aviation pilots, airline charters and partnerships, consumer issues, and drone policies.
A committee hearing in May discussed ways to modernize the FAA, including the air traffic control system.