![]()
Mere hours before a potential government shutdown, a temporary funding bill was passed, which extended funding through Nov. 17 and included a statutory authorization of the FAA through Dec. 31. The continuing resolution funds the federal government for 45 days and allows Congress additional time to come to a consensus on the bill without hurting the American public.
The threat of a government shutdown was looming over the nation as Congress remained at a standstill at the end of September. Without an agreement, the shutdown would have begun on Oct. 1, impacting the entire country. Critical workers in the aviation industry like air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Officers would be required to work without pay, performing crucial tasks without a paycheck until a bill was passed and the government could reimburse workers. Many employees cannot afford to work without pay, even temporarily, with many living paycheck to paycheck.
On Saturday night President Biden signed the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024 and Other Extensions Act (H.R. 5860) into law, making continuing federal funds for several departments, agencies, and projects. This means workers will continue to receive paychecks and government-funded organizations may continue to operate normally. Part of the ruling included an extension of the FAA's authorization until Dec. 31. This allows the FAA to continue to operate, including paying employees, work on airport safety, land use planning and weather reporting. The FAA may continue to work with committees, conduct research and continue training. The FAA's authorization was set to expire just after midnight on Oct. 1 and now has been extended to Dec. 31, 2023.
The bipartisan bill was introduced by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves, ranking member Rick Larsen, and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith.
"Reauthorizing the FAA is vital to ensuring the safe and efficient operation of America's aviation system," Grave and Larsen said in a statement. "Though the House overwhelmingly passed a bill in July to reauthorize the FAA for five years, the Senate needs additional time to consider and reach a final agreement on a multi-year FAA bill, thus, passing a short-term extension in order to ensure all FAA programs continue to function while negotiations continue is necessary. But make no mistake, enacting a long-term bill as soon as possible is a top priority, as a series of short-term extensions will be detrimental to the FAA, airport infrastructure improvements, and the aviation industry."RELATED STORIES:Furloughed workers and travel delays - how a government shutdown would impact aviationNBAA, coalition urge Senate to quickly confirm FAA nominee
President names former official as new FAA nominee
The NBAA welcomed the temporary funding. The organization is one of several that are responsible for about five percent of the U.S. GDP and provide over 10 million jobs. The funding for the FAA is pivotal in securing the safety of the U.S. National Air Space.
"Aviation is one of the nation's most regulated industries, relying on the FAA for a variety of personnel and services to support safety, security, certification and other priorities," NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen said. "We thank Congress for passing this important funding and authorization extension to ensure the agency is able to continue its mission to maintain a safe and efficient National Airspace System used by millions of Americans each day."
On Sept. 13 the NBAA and a coalition of other industry groups sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate, urging a swift confirmation of the latest FAA nominee. The letter sent Wednesday also called on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and Senate leadership to expedite the passage of the FAA Reauthorization bill. The NBAA called members to use their voices to remind Congress of the urgent need of funding for the FAA and long-term reauthorization plans.
"As always, NBAA members stood ready to mobilize on a key priority," Bolen said. "We will remain vigilant and prepared for further action as needed, while we continue to underscore the urgent need for Congress to complete work on the annual appropriations bills to fund the federal government and a long-term FAA reauthorization."
President Biden released a statement Sunday morning, explaining the importance of preventing a shutdown to protect the American people.
"Last night, Congress passed the spending bill that's going to keep the government open," President Biden said. "And it's good news for the American people because the government will not shut down and a needless crisis will have been averted, saving millions — millions of Americans needless pain."
Controllers and transportation officers will be paid, social security is fully funded and programs and research will continue to operate as normal. Now, armed with a short extension, representatives can go back to finding consensus over federal funding and the FAA reauthorization will now need passage by the new, Dec. 31 deadline. After months of negotiations, the passage of the bill seemed on track. As the deadline approached, conversations became more heated, with many Republican representatives speaking out against the bill over a lack of included border security measures and the continued funding and support in Ukraine. PBS News Hour reported that Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave up on demands for spending cuts and relied on the Democrats to pass the bill.
"We're going to do our job," McCarthy said. "We're going to be adults in the room. And we're going to keep government open."
Back-and-forth debates continued well into the late hours on Saturday night, with strong opposition from Republicans. CNN updated the public throughout Saturday, sharing that Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulled the fire alarm shortly before the House was scheduled to vote. He told CNN that a door that normally was open was closed and he pulled the fire alarm by mistake in an attempt to open the door. The House ethics committee is reportedly looking into the incident and GOP Rep. Lisa McClain told CNN she was circulating a resolution to censure Bowman. Despite the division of opinion between Republican and Democratic representatives, McCarthy opted to forgo his own demands to prevent a shutdown from impacting the American people.
The bill passed the House with strong support and the final vote in the U.S. Senate was 88 to 9. Some Republican members were disappointed with the passage as well as McCarthy's decision. His decision to call on help from the Democrats puts his own job on the line, with CNN reporting that the question lingering now is whether Republicans will move to remove McCarthy from speakership. When asked about the risk to McCarthy's speakership and whether Democrats should vote to keep him in the position, President Biden said he had no vote on the matter and would leave it up to the House and Senate.
President Biden spoke on the discourse in his Sunday morning statement, emphasizing the need to reach an agreement and secure the bill's passage. With a temporary passage, the threat of a shutdown has been lifted, but a consensus must still be met in order to officially pass the funding bill. The Airlines for America said in their own statement that this extension will ensure there is no lapse in the FAA's authority as well as provide officials time to decide.
"Today's action also gives the Senate time to continue its work on the FAA Reauthorization bill," the AAA statement said. "We remain confident that the House and Senate will agree on a new multi-year bipartisan reauthorization legislation this Congress."
The FAA has not made a public comment on the extension. The FAA Reauthorization Act will still need to be passed before the Dec. 31 extension deadline. The instability surrounding the agency grows, with a lack of permanent leadership, a rise in runway incursions and heavy scrutiny in the public eye. The FAA has also been without a permanent leader since Steve Dickson stepped down in March 2020. The former nominee Phil Washington removed himself from the confirmation process in March, amidst backlash from Republicans in the Senate over his qualifications and experience. The current Acting FAA Administrator Polly Trottenberg will be forced to step down on Oct. 25 after 210 days in the role due to specific laws governing presidential nominees. President Biden named former FAA official Mike Whitaker as the new nominee on Sept. 7. Whitaker has to be confirmed and officially appointed to the role.
The authority and funding for the FAA has been extended and thousands of workers will continue receiving paychecks for their work thanks to the extension. The FAA authorization will expire after Dec. 31 and the Act will still need to be passed before the deadline.