House Passes Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed H.R. 915, a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding and safety oversight programs for four years with a total authorized spending level of $70 billion.  The bill includes a total of $16.2 billion for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), the primary source of federal funding for airport capital projects.  The bill also increases the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) on airline flights from $4.50 to $7.00, which is estimated to generate $1 billion per year in additional revenue.  These fees may be levied by airports to fund airport infrastructure investment.  The most recent multi-year authorization of the FAA expired on September 30, 2007.  The programs have been operating under a series of short-term extensions since that time.  The Senate has not yet acted on reauthorization legislation this year.