Bills
| 3.23.22

Is a Short-Term Extension of the FAA and Related Airport Programs Needed? (H.R. 4721)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 4721?

(Updated July 19, 2017)

This bill was enacted on March 30, 2016

This bill would provide a short-term reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the airport improvement program through July 15, 2016. The current authorization expires on March 31, 2016 and this reauthorization would take effect the following day..

The following components of the airport improvement program and related programs would be reauthorized by this legislation:

  • The small community air service development program;

  • The competition disclosure requirement under a development project grant for a large hub airport or a medium hub airport;

  • The eligibility for small airport grants of airports in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of Palau;

  • The air traffic control contract program;

  • State and local government compatible land use planning and projects;

  • Dept. of Transportation authority to use funds to acquire, establish, and improve air navigation facilities;

  • Civil aviation research and development;

  • FAA operations and essential air service.

The Inspector General would be required to report on participation in FAA programs by disadvantaged small businesses through the end of fiscal year 2016. A pilot program which allows operators of up to four public-use airports to receive grants for airport redevelopment would be extended until July 15, 2016 — as would an advisory committee for aviation consumer protection.

Airport development at Midway Island would be authorized to continue for this period, and any final order related to eligibility for essential air service compensation issued during that period would have its usual authority.

Spending authority from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, fuel and ticket taxes, and the exemption from ticket taxes for aircraft in fractional ownership aircraft programs would be extended through April 1, 2017 for the FAA. Without an extension, the Airport and Airway Trust Fund would no longer be able to collect aviation taxes, which total over $30 million daily.

Argument in favor

Both the House and Senate are working on long-term FAA reauthorizations, and a short-term extension will allow that work to continue into the spring without having to race against the clock to pass a long-term bill by the end of March.

Argument opposed

A short-term extension of the FAA’s authorities and programs wouldn’t be needed in Congress had taken care of its business sooner rather than waiting until the month that the agency’s authorization expires.

Impact

AIr travelers and communities that benefit from air service; airports and the entities that manage them; and the FAA.

Cost of H.R. 4721

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) introduced this bill to ensure that both chambers of Congress have time to draft and reconcile their own FAA reauthorizations before the agency’s current authorization expires on March 31, 2016:

“Last month, the Transportation Committee approved the long-term Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act, which presents a profound, transformational reform of our aviation system and a departure from the status quo. Yesterday, the Senate introduced its own FAA legislation, and I look forward to working with them to produce a final bill. In the meantime, while both House and Senate continue efforts to move each bill forward, we need to pass an extension to ensure that the FAA and the federal aviation programs remain fully funded and functional.”

Rep. Shuster had introduced a more robust FAA reform bill that would have transferred the FAA’s responsibilities to a nonprofit company, but House leadership decided to shelve that bill in favor of working with the Senate on an FAA reauthorization.



Media:

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District)