FAA Reauthorization in Limbo

The Senate passed legislation to reauthorize Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) programs and funding for two years. Included in the legislation is $8.1 billion for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), the primary source of federal funding for airport capital projects, $4 billion in FY 2010 and $4.1 billion in 2011. The program is currently funded at $3.5 billion. The Senate bill would also allow six airports (to be determined in the future) to raise the passenger facility charge (PFC) on airline flights from $4.50 to $7.00. The House passed a four-year authorization in July 2009, and included a total of $16.2 billion for AIP grant funding and allows all airports to increase the PFC from $4.50 to $7.00, which is estimated to generate $1billion per year in additional revenue for airport infrastructure investment. AGC is working in support of allowing the PFC ceiling to increase for all airports to $7.00. The House is likely to amend the Senate bill, which will allow the Senate to either ask for a conference to settle the differences or else allow informal negotiations to settle the differences, leading to another exchange of amendments between the House and Senate. Considering this scenario, it is unlikely Congress will approve a reauthorization bill prior to the current extension, which expires on March 31.  To prevent any disruption in the programs, the House passed a bill to extend FAA authorization until July 31, 2010, which changes the way that $745 million in highway funding under the Projects of National and Regional Significance and Corridor programs will be apportioned to states in FY 2010. The Senate has yet to act on the extension.