Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Taking Off
Overview
While DC has its eyes on the midterm elections and the lame duck, Plurus has begun to turn our attention to the 118th Congress. There's expected to be several "must pass" bills, from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to FY24 appropriations to the Farm Bill. Another on the horizon is the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) within the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Responsible for air traffic as an air navigation service provider (ANSP), the FAA is led by Acting Administrator Billy Nolen who has been in his role since April 2022, succeeding Trump-appointed Stephen Dickson. President Biden's nominee for Administrator is Phil Washington, the current CEO of the Denver International Airport and the former CEO of Los Angeles Metro. Washington's nomination remains in committee.
Over on Capitol Hill, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committees have jurisdiction over the FAA. Congress last reauthorized the FAA in 2018 through September 30, 2023. This five-year authorization followed a four-year authorization passed in 2012, which in turn had followed over 20 prior short-term extensions.
The 2018 law authorized $96.7 billion over five years and contained the following titles:
Title I: Authorizations - Including funding and Air Improvement Program (AIP) reforms
Title II: FAA Safety Certification Reform - Addressing aircraft certification and the safety workforce
Title III: Safety - A majority of this title tackled drone operations
Title IV: Air Service Improvements - Customer service
Title V: Miscellaneous - This title included everything from air shows to data transparency to spaceports
Title VI: Aviation Workforce - Advancing youth and women in aviation, as well as in drone workforce
Title VII: Flight R&D Act - Included drone and cybersecurity research and development
Title VIII: Aviation Revenue Provisions - Airport and Airway Trust Fund
Additionally, the 2018 reauthorization was a vehicle for a number of other efforts, including the reauthorization of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) through FY22 and the Disaster Recovery Reform Act which provided policy or regulation changes for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
2023 Considerations, Highlights, & New Additions
The 2022 midterms will definitely have an impact on how the FAA reauthorization plays out. Should both chambers remain under the control of one party, there might be a pressure felt within the party in control to get the reauthorization done in the first year of the new Congress and make the reauthorization a stamp of their platform. However, if Republicans take one or both chambers, there will likely be a focus by the party on investigating the Biden Administration; it remains to be seen whether the FAA reauthorization could be used as a tool for or seen as a distraction from that oversight effort.
One other consideration is how the debt ceiling – which seems set to be met by early 2023 – overlays with an FAA reauthorization, which had happened during the last debt ceiling crisis in 2011. At that time, FAA furloughed staff; ultimately, AIP funds were transferred to the rest of the agency to maintain operations. For this upcoming debt ceiling conversation, Republicans will want to put in spending controls, especially after the spending for COVID response and infrastructure.
In 2021, significant funds were provided to the FAA through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The $25 million was provided to address aging facilities and equipment at airport terminals, air traffic facilities, and airport infrastructure. However, this money was designed to supplement AIP grants. There still remains plenty of challenges to address in this upcoming reauthorization.
"Traditional" Aspects: The 2023 reauthorization effort will likely include the standard components of previous reauthorizations, including aircraft certification. Former Administrator Dickson had championed certification reform.
Environmental Efforts, including Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): While some IIJA money went into electrifying the fleets at airports, no infrastructure money went towards SAF. Proponents of SAF will want to pursue initiatives to scale up this technology while lowering the price which is currently four to five times higher than conventional fuels.
Commercial Space Activity: With the private spaceflight industry lifting off in 2022, how these vehicles travel from the earth to space (within FAA's jurisdiction) will be a topic of discussion.
Advanced Air Mobility and Veritports: The automated travel for both passengers and cargo has already been discussed in the Senate as a topic for next year's reauthorization. In October 2022, the FAA put out guidelines for vertiports, the landing spots for AAM vehicles.
Uncrewed Aerial Systems (Drones): The 2018 reauthorization created new conditions for recreational drones, and this upcoming reauthorization is being seen as a way for the U.S. to continue and advance its leadership in drones.
Frequency Spectrum, Namely 5G: As both aviation and non-aviation industries express greater need for spectrum use, the aviation industry is concerned with the impact of 5G on radar altimeters. FAA has called for more collaboration with industries as a way to ensure safety.
Consumer Protections: A number of Democratic Members who are known for championing consumer protection, like Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ed Markey (D-MA), will likely attempt to add pro-consumer provisions such as seat size, cancelled flight refunds, or added fees.
Many of these challenges and opportunities mostly stem from the issue of a limited quality of air space. The relationships the FAA has with relevant agencies – from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on commercial space activity to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on drones to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on 5G, as well as those agencies' Congressional committees of jurisdiction – will definitely be discussed in reauthorization conversations.
Outlook
House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Pete DeFazio (D-OR) departs at the end of this Congress, and currently vying for the top Democrat role on the Committee are Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA). While Holmes Norton boasts seniority , it's currently unclear which will be the top Democrat next Congress. Both have been players in the aviation space: notably, Larsen is the current Aviation Subcommittee Chair and was the Subcommittee Ranking Member during the last FAA reauthorization; he represents the Boeing Everett facility. Holmes Norton, on the other hand, is the co-chair of the Quiet Skies Caucus and has centered her aviation work around efforts to reduce the impact of aircraft noise on the public. Should Larsen assume the full committee position, next in line for the Democrats on the Aviation Subcommittee is Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN); Cohen's 9th District includes Memphis International Airport, a hub for FedEx and the country's busiest cargo airport.
On the Republican side, Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) is expected to stay the top Republican for the full committee. Aviation Subcommittee Member Garret Graves (R-LA) is also expected to stay in the leadership role. Having taken the Ranking Member role in 2019, this will be Graves' first FAA reauthorization at the helm. His efforts over the past two years of the Biden Administration have centered on oversight of infrastructure funds, specifically the impact of the federal dollars on inflation and efforts to expedite moving funds out to project.
Over in the Senate, Commerce, Science, and Transportation Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is expected to remain the top Democrat on the Committee. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) chairs the Aviation Subcommittee. She took the helm of the subcommittee in early 2021 and held a hearing in September 2022 as a preamble for the FAA reauthorization: the hearing focused on ways aviation can improve mobility, the economy, and carbon reductions, specifically, advanced air mobility, electric aircraft, and drones.
Full committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS) will give up his position in order to take retiring Sen. Jim Inhofe's role on the Armed Services Committee. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is expected to take the helm as the top Republican. Cruz is also the Ranking Member of the Aviation Subcommittee and represents the second busiest airport in the U.S., Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
How the full and subcommittee membership will shake out depends on the results and margins from the midterm elections. In the House, we already know 10 of the 37 Democrats and 4 of the 32 Republicans will not be returning next Congress. Additionally, a number of Members are in vulnerable districts. The Senate side seems more stable, with only Aviation Subcommittee member Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in a vulnerable re-election. We will continue to monitor how the midterms will shape the next Congress' transportation committees and, in turn, their priorities for the FAA reauthorization.