NATA and the Aircraft Electronics Association are seeking member participation in contacting Members of Congress in opposition to the foreign repair station provisions in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate versions of FAA Reauthorization legislation.
Conference negotiations between the House and the Senate on H.R. 915/S.1451, the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2009 are likely before the end of the year. Each bill contains a provision requiring additional FAA oversight of foreign repair stations. More specifically, H.R. 915, which passed the House on May 21, 2009, includes a provision requiring the FAA to certify that all Part 145 certificated foreign repair stations are inspected at least twice a year and requires those organizations to introduce mandatory drug and alcohol testing if they maintain aircraft operated by U.S. airlines. Further, S. 1451, which has not yet been voted on in the Senate, contains similar language regarding repair station inspections but makes an exception if "a bilateral aviation safety agreement is in place that allows for comparable inspection by local authorities."
The proposed regulation would eliminate a reciprocal audit provision of the U.S.-European Community Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement, or "BASA," and would unnecessarily raise costs for EU-based repair stations. The potential job loss to U.S. repair stations is high if the companies that hold a U.S.-based EASA Part 145 repair station certificate lose the reciprocal audit capabilities between the FAA and EASA.
Contact your Members of Congress by visiting NATA's Legislative Action Center: www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=NATA. NATA's Legislative Action Center provides association members with a quick and easy way to email letters directly to Members of Congress in their state.
