The U.S. Congress passed a multi-year Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization.

Pushed off 23 times since the previous FAA authorization had been scheduled to expire in 2007, the new bill goes to President Barack Obama for final approval. The Senate on Monday approved the bill that last week passed the House of Representatives. It followed a compromise among congressional leaders on airline labor regulations, a major sticking point that led to an FAA funding lapse last summer. The Airlines for America trade group praised the bill for "reaffirming the U.S. position that the European Union should not extend its emission trading scheme to non-EU airlines," for funding accelerated development of NextGen air traffic control and for "holding the line on federal aviation taxes and fees paid by airlines and their customers."