FAA Reauthorization Bill: 5 Key Issues – and Where They Stand
Photo Credit: Capitol, Washington D.C. Unsplash / Harold Mendoza
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A new FAA reauthorization bill is nearly across the finish line, but the Senate still has to finalize its own version when Congress returns from its annual recess in September.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass its version of a crucial bill to reauthorize funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for five more years. Next, the Senate needs to finalize its own version, and the two sides need to work out differences by September 30. Miss the deadline, and Congress would need to approve an extension.
Beyond funding, the reauthorization is important because it will include several provisions about consumer protections and airline safety, some of which have proven controversial.
Here are five important things to know about this year’s FAA reauthorization process, and what happens now.
1. New Consumer ProtectionsA big part of the FAA reauthorization involves improving the travel experience for consumers. This effort takes center stage after widespread cancellations, operational meltdowns and staffing shortages have tested travelers’ patience.
For now, the House bill is generally less specific when it lays out how airlines would have to handle consumer complaints than the Senate bill in progress.
Both the White House and Senate Democrats have both been pushing back on so-called surprise “junk fees'' that drive up the ultimate costs of airline tickets. Ahead of the House vote, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said it opposed provisions in that bill that “would reverse important gains made by this administration to combat junk fees in the airline industry and would eliminate long standing consumer protections.” The office urged the House to keep
