US Senate Gives FAA Five-Year Reauthorization – Finally
The FAA got a five-year reauthorization from the U.S. Senate, with broad bipartisan support, solving many legal and regulatory loose ends.
In recent years, U.S. lawmakers only reauthorized the FAA for short periods. This slowed down the approval of a number of new regulations, and it made it harder for the agency to pursue certain improvements, for example in air traffic control. It may also have had a role in the FAA’s ability to certify new aircraft.
Department of Transport FAA Headquarters. Photo: Matthew G. Bisanz, CC BY-SA 3.0The bill went through the Senate last Thursday, in a vote of 88 to 4. Along with the FAA, the NTSB also got its own reauthorization. However, it is still necessary for the U.S. House of Representatives to vote on the bill in its final form.
Still Some Work To DoThis should happen in the coming week. Strong bi-partisan support in the Senate suggests that this shouldn’t be a problem. Then it will go to the U.S. President, for final approval. In any case, ..