Risch, Crapo both back just-in-time FAA reauthorization

Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch both voted in favor of FAA reauthorization legislation that cleared the Senate yesterday with just four no votes – just in time to avoid a partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration on July 15, as its congressional authorization expires.

Lindsay Nothern, spokesman for Crapo, said the president is expected to sign the bill in time. “The FAA bill will get to the president’s desk in time to avoid a shutdown and Congress has not received any warnings that he will veto the measure,” Nothern said. The reauthorization includes a wide array of provisions, including requiring airlines to refund checked-bag fees to customers if the bags are unreasonably delayed or lost.

The FAA went through a partial shutdown in 2011, when Congress failed to pass reauthorization legislation in time. Since then, there have been a three-year authorization and a short-term reauthorization. The new bill would run through the end of September 2017.

“The Senate passed a six-year FAA bill, while the House had only passed an FAA bill in committee that did not reach the House floor,” Nothern said. “While a longer term extension of the FAA would be preferred, today’s extension was an agreement between the House and Senate committees of jurisdiction that keeps the public safely flying and was able to be supported by a bipartisan majority of the both chambers.”

The House had earlier agreed to Senate amendments to the bill unanimously, on a voice vote.

The bill also addresses drone safety issues; airport security; streamlining of the air traffic controller hiring process to address shortages; and includes a new requirement that airlines ensure that children 13 or younger are seated next to an adult or older child traveling with them.

House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Penn., pushed hard for his own “transformational” bill to remove air traffic control from the FAA and privatize it, creating an independent, non-profit entity with heavy representation from the airline industry to operate and manage it. The main industry advocate for the change is the Airlines for America lobbying group, which represents all major airlines except Delta.

Shuster acknowledged in the spring of 2015 that Shelley Rubino, the group’s vice president for global government affairs and top lobbyist, and he had been romantically involved since the summer of 2014; they are often seen together at Washington, D.C. events. Politico reported that Shuster said his office has a policy under which “Ms. Rubino doesn’t lobby my office, including myself and my staff.” Shuster divorced in 2014 after a two-decade marriage, the news site reported.

With time running out and little support for the privatization bill, the House finally agreed to the Senate bill, with amendments including limiting it to just run through September of 2017; current funding levels will continue.

Risch said, “I supported the FAA reauthorization because it gives critical certainty to aviators, airports, and consumers across the board. … What we’ve passed today represents a comprehensive approach to solving our transportation needs as we look toward the future.”

A summary of the newly passed reauthorization bill is online here , at the website of the Senate Commerce Committee.