Senate Begins Debate on FAA Bill

On Wednesday the Senate agreed on a motion to proceed to the long-delayed FAA reauthorization bill.  It was unclear whether the Senate would actually be able to take up the bill due to a controversial provision in the House-passed version that would make it easier for certain FedEx workers to unionize. The Senate is attempting to avoid a fight on that issue by attaching the Senate bill to an unrelated House-passed bill.  The two year Senate authorization provides $4 billion for the Airport Improvement Program in FY 2010 and $4.1 billion in FY 2011.  The Airport Improvement program is the primary source of federal funding for airport capital projects.  The bill also revises procedural requirements for imposition of aircraft passenger facility charges.  Those fees are used to fund airport infrastructure investments.  A summary of the bill can be found here. The Senate will continue consideration and likely vote on the FAA bill next week.