NEWS
fi eld for U.S. carriers and strong and enforceable protections for aviation workers must be a part of any deal. The FAA reauthorization will expire at the end of this
fi scal year and Congress has an opportunity and obligation to pass a multi-year bill that makes critical investments in aviation technology and infrastructure and advances policies that address workforce issues and make air transportation safer for passengers and employees. At the same time lawmakers and the President must stop the debilitating budget cuts of sequestration that are undermining important aviation advancements and safety improvements, and scapegoating FAA employees.
Funding Shortfalls and Uncertainty The FAA continues to operate with inadequate funding and near-constant budgetary and authorization uncertainty. Passage of the last FAA Reauthorization Act in 2012 was delayed for more than three years requiring enactment of 23 extensions just to avert a lapse in agency funding. When an agreement could not be reached on the 21st extension, the FAA was partially shut down for two weeks during the summer of 2011, costing the government nearly $30 million a day and sending many of the agency’s employees home. Most recently, in October of 2013, Congress failed to pass the appropriations needed to fund the government and FAA employees were subjected to another round of furloughs. According to an estimate from Standard & Poor’s, the government shutdown cost the economy $24 billion, including about $3.1 billion in lost government services. And the erratic funding for the FAA is having severe
Association Management • Legal Services • Management Services
Public Policy Advocacy • Lobbying Policymakers • Managing Grassroots Campaigns • Producing Comprehensive Legislative Materials • Analyzing Legislation • Working with Coalitions to Strategize and Implement Joint Advocacy Campaigns
Regulatory Counsel • Regulatory Integration/Rulemaking Proceedings • Management of Certification Projects • Ensuring a Professional Relationship with the FAA • Legal Opinions • Enforcement Defense • Private Company Training • Independent Regulatory Compliance Audits • Internal Company Investigations • Aircraft Accidents and Incidents • Drafting of Company Manuals and Related Procedures
• Review of Contracts 03 2015 53
consequences including costly delay of vital modernization projects. It is time for Congress and the President to insulate FAA operations and staffi ng, safety programs, and modernization initiatives from the wrenching eff ects of federal budget impasses in Washington.
Sequestration The federal budgeting mandate known as sequestration has had a wrenching and cascading eff ect on the FAA and its workforce and on the broader airline industry. Applying the mandates of sequestration – rigid across-the-board budget cuts – to the FAA has caused major setbacks in vital programs that support the safety and effi ciency of air travel. And because Congress has been unable to fi nd a suitable compromise on a federal budget, sequestration remains the law of the land. The fi rst round of sequestration cuts in 2013 forced the furlough of every FAA employee, including air traffi c controllers, systems specialists, engineers, and aviation safety inspectors. The furloughs impaired the FAA’s ability to perform its safety mandate and manage the National Airspace System (NAS). During the week of April 21-27, 2013, fl ight delays nearly tripled from 5,103 during that same week in 2012 to 13,694 in 2013. Additionally, when sequestration cuts were initially announced, the FAA was prepared to close air traffi c control towers throughout the country, with reduced hours of service at others. Ultimately, Congress passed a fi x that ended the furloughs and tower closures, but it only did so temporarily. Absent a budget deal that ends sequestration, more cuts will occur this fall and continue through 2023.
Managing the intersection of business
Obadal, Filler, MacLeod & Klein, P.L.C.
Public Policy Advocacy Regulatory Counsel
Association Management
potomac-law.com
and government.
DOMmagazine.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68