The House this week once again
moved the goal posts on long-term Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization,
extending FAA funding and taxing authority, set to expire on July 3, until Aug.
1. Transportation Committee chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.), however, said Congress
is getting closer to resolving Senate and House bills, and plans to have a final
bill ready as soon as this month.
The U.S. Senate in March unanimously
voted in favor of long-term FAA reauthorization and sent its version of the bill
to be reconciled with the House's passed version. The last long-term reauthorization
bill expired in 2007, forcing FAA to operate under a dozen extensions in the interim.
"Since passage of the Senate
bill in March, we have been working diligently to resolve the differences between
the House and Senate bills," Oberstar said this week. "We have made extremely
good progress and are near completion of a final bill. However, given that the current
authority for aviation programs expires at the end of this week, a further extension
of current law is necessary to continue the financing of aviation programs through
August 1, 2010. Based on the hard work that has occurred to date, I am extremely
hopeful that Congress will complete action on the long-term FAA reauthorization
act in July."