It would appear the long-awaited FAA reauthorization bill will be punted to the next session of Congress. Several outlets are reporting that Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Commerce and Infrastructure Committee, and Ranking Member Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Washington, have put forth a bill that would extend the current authorization to March 8. The current authorization is due to expire at the end of the year, but Congress is breaking for the holidays at the end of this week and there’s no chance a new reauthorization will pass.
That will disappoint aviation groups who have been lobbying for stable funding for the agency for years. The House passed a reauthorization bill in July but it’s been held up in the Senate mostly over the proposal to allow 150 hours of simulator time to be counted toward the 1,500-hour total flight experience required for ATP ratings. The current rules allow 100 hours of sim time. Last week a group of aviation organizations sent a letter to both houses urging passage of a full reauthorization before the break. The FAA is already operating on an extension passed in September.
Let me get this straight…
The proposal is hung up over 50 hours that these dingdongs don’t even have a clue about? This is what’s stopping the whole thing? Good God man. Get a clue! Unreal. Out “politicians” at work!
Also attached to this bill is the forced use of leaded fuel at all airports that get federal funding. As you can imagine there are many in congress that won’t sign a bill that forces the use of poisonous lead.
Goes to show just how little Congress thinks of aviation, vs their time off!
It would appear that the only thing Congress is good at is kicking the can down the road. Sigh…..