Senate Passes Two-year FAA Reauthorization Bill

The U.S. Senate passed the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act on February 17 by a vote of 87-8. One day earlier in the lower chamber, the House Transportation Committee approved its FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 by a vote of 34 to 25. The last reauthorization was in 2003, and that expired in 2007. Since then there have been 17 extensions. The House committee version now goes to the entire House of Representatives for a vote. Neither piece of legislation calls for general-aviation user fees, but there are several major differences between the two bills. For example, the Senate bill would extend reauthorization for just two years, while the House version would extend it for four years. And while both set deadlines and metrics for measuring progress toward a Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), the Senate bill "improves" the Essential Air Service program and the House version phases it out. A House/Senate conference committee will have to iron out such discrepancies before the legislation bill can go to President Obama for his signature.