Congress looks to avoid year-end FAA fight as aviation safety concerns hold up deal

Lawmakers in the House and Senate are expected to kick the can down the road and pass a temporary extension to the Federal Aviation Administration’s authorization until March 8, giving lawmakers more time to negotiate a long-term deal.

Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and ranking member Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) recently introduced the extension that would allow the Senate to work through its concerns with the bill while also giving both chambers enough time to hash out the differences between the legislation.

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Months ago, lawmakers decoupled the FAA portion from government funding to keep aviation safety separate in case negotiations went south over a spending deal. Lawmakers averted a government shutdown in mid-November with a stopgap measure that extended the funding for the agency until Jan. 19.

However, that task appeared to be an uphill climb after the Senate bill continued to be held up over a dispute over whether to change pilot training requirements and whether to allow pilots in training to count flight simulator training toward their required 1,500 hours of in-flight experience to become a certified pilot.

Weeks ago, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said talks among the committee members had been productive and that they were attempting to deal with the pilot shortage problem. However, sources involved in discussions told the Washington Examiner a deal has yet to be reached on this front.

The House passed its version of the bill 351-69 on July 20. Its version would keep standards for pilot training the same after blocking a proposed change floated by Graves. However, the legislation raised the mandatory pilot retirement age from 65 to 67, which is intended to expand the pilot workforce. The measure faces opponents in both parties and the Biden administration who argue the change could affect safety and cause headaches because pilots older than 65 are unable to fly internationally.

In addition to the pilot retirement age policy, lawmakers must resolve a dispute about expanding the perimeter rule for the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. A group of lawmakers is attempting to increase the number of long-distance flights at the airport, which has limits on the number of flights that travel more than 1,250 miles away.

Both Reagan and Dulles International Airport are owned by the federal government, which means Congress has the power to decide how they operate. However, lawmakers from the Washington area are opposed to an expansion and continue to argue the airport is already strained by traffic and noise disruption, pointing to an internal FAA memo that found 20 more daily round-trip operations would increase delays by 25.9% and an increase of 25 daily round-trip operations would increase delays by 33.2% at Reagan.

Even with a short-term extension, industry leaders are concerned the dysfunction could create a safety risk as more than 130 million people are expected to travel for the holidays this year, according to a recent NerdWallet survey. The surge in travel comes as an independent U.S. aviation review team called for “urgent action” to prevent plane crashes last month.

The FAA released a 52-page report citing concerns that include technology problems, staff shortages, outdated systems, and funding difficulties. Since the beginning of the year, the National Transportation Safety Board opened seven investigations into near-collisions on tarmacs across the country.

“The most important action Congress can take for the safety of the NAS [national airspace system] would be to pass a long-term, comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill before the end of the year,” National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Rich Santa said at a Senate hearing in November. “Continuing to follow the same flawed controller staffing model utilized by the FAA after more than a decade of missed hiring goals and missed staffing projections will continue this downward trend. A new approach is needed.”

Between 2007 and 2012, there were 23 short-term extensions of the FAA’s authorization, including a two-week lapse in 2011. In 2013, the FAA shut down for 16 days due to the budget sequestration, which resulted in furloughs of FAA staff members, including technicians and air traffic controllers. The agency was also caught in a partial government shutdown for 35 days in late 2018 and early 2019, in which air traffic controllers worked without a paycheck for 35 days but received back pay.

“With so many challenges facing airports and the entire aviation industry, we simply cannot afford to go through years of multiple short-term extensions,” said Paul Bradbury, director of the Portland International Jetport, at a congressional hearing at the end of last month. “Repeated short-term extensions and FAA shutdowns make it exceptionally challenging for airport operators to plan and complete their capital projects. Funding uncertainty is particularly difficult on smaller airports and those with short construction seasons.”

Industry leaders continue to sound the alarm about the impact of all these short-term extensions.

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“Do we want Administrator [Michael] Whitaker to spend his time managing lapses in authority and appropriations or focus his time on addressing the agency’s significant challenges and taking advantage of opportunities?” Pete Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, asked at the same hearing.

“As we have seen in the past, if action is not taken now, it will have both near-term and long-term impacts and set the agency back substantially,” he added.