Washington D.C.— The Alliance for Aviation Across America applauded the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives for passage of H.R. 302, a five-year Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill. The bill passed in the Senate today with a vote of 93-6. Last week, the bill was passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 398-23.
In response, the Alliance released the following statement:
“On behalf of rural communities, small and mid-sized farms and businesses, and operators across the country, we applaud Congress for passing a multi-year FAA reauthorization bill, which will support ongoing funding of our airport and aviation infrastructure, help to safeguard passengers, address our critical pilot and workforce shortage, and perhaps most importantly, this proposal excludes a risky provision to privatize our nation’s air traffic control system.
“This harmful proposal would have taken away Congressional oversight of our aviation system and put it under the control of a private board dominated by the biggest airlines and interests in the system, allowing them to control access and shape this critical public infrastructure for their own benefit. Already we see that in foreign countries that have privatized, the largest airports and operators have been prioritized over smaller communities and interests.
“Across our country, there are more than 5000 airports that connect small businesses and communities to far-off plants and customers, and critical services such as medical care, fire fighting, and disaster relief. We look forward to working with Congress and other stakeholders to ensure that we preserve consistent investment in the nation’s aviation infrastructure, support modernization of our air traffic control system, and preserve access to our system for communities of all sizes.”
