Another Short-Term FAA Extension

With the prior one-month continuation of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) programs expiring at the end of April, Congress was forced to once again extend the current authorization (Vision-100). This is the 13th time a temporary extension of Vision-100 has been necessary since its original expiration in September 2007.

On April 28, the House unanimously approved the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 5147), which continues FAA policy, funding levels, and tax authority through July 3. The Senate took up the measure shortly thereafter.

In the meantime, the House and Senate are negotiating differences between the two versions of a new FAA reauthorization bill with the hopes of completing legislation before July 4th congressional recess. The majority of the discrepancies between the two pieces of legislation are easily workable.

However, several hot-button issues, including FAA inspection and drug and alcohol testing at foreign repair stations, easing of unionization rules at Federal Express, and the revocation of antitrust immunity granted to certain airline alliances are going to prove more difficult to reconcile and could be detrimental to passage of an FAA reauthorization bill this year.