In the Latest Understatement To Come from Capitol Hill ...

Aug. 10, 2011
… Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV), and four other Democrats plead in a letter to U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) for him to appoint conferees to find a long-term solution to FAA/system funding, pointing out that “action on a final FAA bill is long overdue.†In fact, four and a half years overdue. The current reauthorization extension expires September 16, a date which seems odd considering that the new federal fiscal year begins October 1. In the letter the Senators state, “Public statements from you and Chairman John Mica say that you are 'willing to use every tool at your disposal' to negotiate a final FAA bill, yet one tool you have so far been unwilling to use is the normal legislative process. More than 120 days ago, a bipartisan group of Senators was appointed to the conference committee between the Senate and House FAA bills. These Senators are eager to negotiate in earnest, but their House counterparts have not been named more than four months after the House passed their FAA bill.†As stated in a previous post, the good news in this debate is that FAA reauthorization is no longer just an issue being bandied about by the industry. The entire nation and general media are paying full attention now. Just consider the action (not a term often applied to the President) that Obama took to get the Senate to pass the current continuing resolution. A nationwide clamor over 74,000 construction jobs being put on hold, and the inherent concern that laying off FAA employees could impact safety, led to the response in Washington. Add the Senators, “The lack of conferees from the House is the main obstacle standing in the way of Congress' ability to produce a bipartisan, long-term, extension of the FAA.†The ball is now in Mr. Boehner’s (and Rep. John Mica’s) court. And a nation is watching. Glad to have them on the bandwagon. Ah, to be hopeful once again for change in Washington. Well, wait – perhaps that’s a poor choice of words. Thanks for reading. jfi