House Version Spins Off ATC, Senate Version Does Not

Congressional leaders in the U.S. House and Senate on Wednesday began revealing their language for an FAA reauthorization bill, and there was one glaring difference between them. The House bill disconnects Air Traffic Control from the FAA, while the Senate version does not.

Air Transport World reports that House Transportation Committee chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) unveiled the House plan on Wednesday in a Capitol Hill news conference in which he said he had the backing of Representative Sam Graves (R-MO) who has been a strong proponent of General Aviation issues in the Congress.

Shuster said he is getting more support for the idea of spinning off ATC from the FAA because the new proposal includes a user fee exemption for the use of controlled airspace by general aviation aircraft. It would also guarantee a seat on the governing board for the proposed nonprofit that would run air traffic control. However, GA pilots would still pay gas taxes, according to committee staff.

Shuster called the bill an "improvement" on the proposal that was put forth in Congress last year, which was not adopted when a continuing resolution was passed to continue funding for the FAA.

Bloomberg reports that the Senate is taking a more traditional approach to FAA funding. Senator Thune has said that he intends to let the house go first in marking up the bill to see if there is the political will to pass it in the lower chamber before considering whether to introduce it in the Senate.

Reuters reports that the House bill would make it illegal for an airline to bump a passenger who has already boarded and aircraft and is seated ... a response to the incident in which a United passenger was dragged bodily off a plane in Chicago by airport police.

Both chambers will likely try to mark up their legislation before the July 4th recess, and possibly have a bill through the full House of Representatives before the August recess. Funding for the FAA via the Continuing Resolution runs out on September 30.

FMI: transportation.house.gov, www.commerce.senate.gov