Biden’s New FAA Nominee Advances Out of Key Senate Committee

President Joe Biden’s new nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration won a Senate panel’s approval—a step forward as the agency has lacked a permanent leader for more than a year and a half while dealing with flight disruptions.

The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, by voice vote, agreed Wednesday to send Michael Whitaker’s nomination for confirmation on the Senate floor. Biden tapped Whitaker last month after his first choice, Phil Washington, withdrew after months-long opposition stalled his confirmation.

The agency has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since March 2022. It faces air traffic controller shortages, near-misses, a shutdown of its notification system that halted flights, and a reauthorization bill stuck in Congress. Whitaker’s nomination has moved at a faster pace through committee than other transportation nominees, quickly securing industry group endorsements and support from Republicans who opposed that of Washington.

“The FAA deserves stable, long-term leadership to guide the safety and technological improvements that our system needs,” Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, said ahead of the markup, urging Whitaker’s confirmation. The nominee, deputy FAA administrator during the Obama administration, is chief operating officer for Hyundai Motor Co.‘s Supernal, which is developing pilotless advanced air mobility operations.

FAA Nominee Pledges to Reduce Air Traffic Controller Shortage

Whitaker told senators he would work to reduce the shortage in air traffic controllers if he’s confirmed. That struggle could worsen as the threat of a potential government shutdown looms anew, with a Nov. 17 deadline. A shutdown would halt training of new controllers. The committee has yet to move the long-term reauthorization of the FAA, which faces a expiration date of the end of the year.

“Assessing the workforce will be one of the first goals that I have within the agency,” Whitaker said at his nomination hearing this month. “It’s a tight workforce right now in aerospace, and we recruit in the same places that private industry does, and we’ve got to figure out a way to be competitive to bring the right talent into the agency.”

Pilot Training Dispute Stalls Senate Agreement on FAA Measure

The panel also advanced three of Biden’s nominees to be Amtrak board members: Anthony Rosario Coscia, Christopher Koos, and Joel Matthew Szabat. The nominees were delayed for months as the Biden administration faced bipartisan criticism for the lack of geographic diversity among rail picks.

White House To Nominate Mike Whitaker for FAA

The White House plans to nominate veteran regulator and airline executive Mike Whitaker as the next leader of the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency that hasn’t had a Senate-confirmed chief for more than a year and a half during a time of significant strain on air travel.

President Joe Biden plans to nominate Whitaker as soon as Thursday, according to five lobbyists from various sectors of aviation who are close to Whitaker, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Whitaker’s name has been circulating among lobbyists and congressional aides since May, when former acting Administrator Billy Nolen announced that he would return to the private sector. The FAA’s current acting leader is Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg, whose experience is primarily with transit and on Capitol Hill but who is a veteran in policy and the workings of Washington, D.C.

White House expected to nominate new leader for FAA

Lawmakers Introduce FAA Reauthorization Legislation

House Transportation Committee Chairman Sam Graves and other lawmakers introduce a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration for the next five years.

“Our bipartisan legislation will improve critical infrastructure for airports of all sizes, streamline the FAA bureaucracy, strengthen the nation’s general aviation sector, encourage the more rapid deployment of safe technological innovations, and address workforce challenges throughout the aviation system,” Graves says in a statement

https://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/sgrlaa_act_intro_text.pdf

President Brad Pierce Speaks at the Aviation Noise & Emissions Symposium 2022 at UC Davis Air Quality Research Center

Recent advances in technology and best practices for airports requires a diverse set of skills and an extensive knowledge base. The NextGen launch, changes to noise remediation practices, and the latest findings from health effects studies require new approaches. Since 1985 the University of California has organized the Aviation Noise & Emissions symposium addressing the most pressing environmental concerns of airports.

N.O.I.S.E. Executive Director Emily Tranter Testifies on House Aviation Subcommittee

In a recent hearing, “Aviation Noise: Measuring Progress in Addressing Community Concerns”, under the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Emily Tranter testified to discuss how the NextGen system puts new tracks into place that are designed not to move or deviate-- essentially creating infrastructure in the sky. Full Testimony and Hearing Linked

FAA Releases Long-Awaited Neighborhood Environmental Study (NES)-N.O.I.S.E. to Meet

The FAA has released the findings of its long-awaited Neighborhood Environmental Survey. This survey was conducted in communities around 20 unnamed U.S. airports, to help determine if the agency needs to update its aviation noise policy. The survey received over 10,000 mail responses, making it the single largest survey of its kind undertaken at one time. The FAA has also invited public comment on the scope and applicability of these research initiatives to address aircraft noise, which is due before March 15, 2021. This is a significant announcement. The notice can be found here.

The N.O.I.S.E. Board and staff have developed the organization's public comment submission which can be found here and we encourage each individual member to submit comments as well.

We would like to come together virtually as a group ahead of the comment period so that the N.O.I.S.E. approved comments can be shared as a template for members and so that we can answer any questions. The agenda can be found here. We want to discuss this unique opportunity to engage in shaping the policy that our organization has focused on for over 50 years.

The N.O.I.S.E. Board will be hosting a Virtual. Meeting to discuss the NES, as well as other organizational business on Wednesday, March 3rd, from 2-4 PM Central.

Please RSVP to Vince Spinner at vinces@primacysg.com

House Passes Infrastructure Bill with Noise Provisions

Congress has begun to move beyond their immediate focus of passing COVID-relief bills and has started to pass legislation related to transportation, water resources, and federal budget bills. Last week, the U.S. House passed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill, the Moving Forward Act, (H.R. 2). The legislation is unlikely to become law in its current form. Instead, it will serve as an opening offer in negotiations with the Senate and White House over fiscal 2021 transportation spending. Senate leaders and the White House do not support the House bill.

The current surface transportation authorization expires September 30, 2020. Without a replacement bill that has bipartisan support, the House and Senate will likely need to extend the existing legislation in order to have more time for negotiations.

We wanted to highlight the sections in this legislation that relate to aviation noise and will continue to monitor and report on developments. N.O.I.S.E. will continue to engage with Congress to advocate for federal legislation that will provide effective tools for the FAA, airports, communities, and stakeholders to address the impacts of aviation noise.

Aviation and Noise Highlights in House Bill:

The bill increases funding to deliver critical projects for Airport and Airspace Capacity by authorizing $4.0 billion from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for the FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) account for fiscal years 2021 through 2025.

  • In addition to increasing AIP's annual authorization level, the Moving Forward Act provides supplemental funding for 5 years based on enplanements. This includes an additional $3 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2021, $3.2 billion in FY22, $3.5 billion in FY23, $3.7 billion in FY24, and $4 billion in FY25. This additional funding will be given in grants for airport projects that increase climate resiliency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigate airplane noise.

  • It increases the Resiliency Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) Cap. In addition to increasing the PFC cap, it also indexes it to inflation, which would allow for increased investment in airports that are at or over capacity with travelers in terminals and increasingly congested with airplanes on runways and taxiways. This revenue would help to fund critical landside development projects that are ineligible for AIP funding, help airports prepare for anticipated passenger growth and demand, and ready airport infrastructure for the future impacts of climate change and natural disasters.

  • The final bill the House voted for also included an amendment by Congressman Rouda (D-CA) to establish a program to be known as the ''Aviation Industry Assistance for Cleaner and Quieter Skies Voucher Program'', under which the Secretary of Transportation will issue electronic vouchers to air carriers to offset the purchase or cost of new aircraft that reduce airplane emissions and noise. Congressman Rouda hopes that transitioning commercial fleets to newer, quieter, less-polluting aircraft is our greatest chance for long-term relief from the daily impacts to quality of life and this program will help to expedite that process.

We will keep you updated on developments with this and other pertinent legislative and regulatory policies as the Federal Government continues to deal with the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on air travel and the nation as a whole.

FAA Deputy Administrator Congressional Testimony

FAA Deputy Administrator Dan Elwell testified last week on Capitol Hill over two days before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee and the House Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee on the agency's implementation of the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act (Public Law 115-254) During both hearings Deputy Administrator Elwell faced sharp questions from lawmakers about the FAA's relationship with Boeing and its grounded 737 Max jets.

He denied in the hearings that the FAA misled Congress on safety inspectors' training, instead insisting that all pilots who certified the safety of the Boeing 737 Max were qualified. He added that though it is the FAA's responsibility to "assure" that aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing meet the agency's safety standards, it is the company's responsibility to design a safe aircraft. Mr. Elwell also told lawmakers that while his agency is currently fully staffed, he has concerns that the FAA won't be able to find enough qualified engineers in the future because they can't compete salary-wise with the private sector.

Mr. Elwell told the Committee the agency currently was not seeking additional funding for safety efforts, but that it might in the future. Both the House and Senate have proposed boosting spending on aviation safety but have not reached an agreement. Mr. Elwell said the FAA was considering creating an innovation office.

Lawmakers also raised concerns about the FAA failing to implement 10-hour rest periods for flight attendants that were mandated in the 2018 bill. The criticism comes after the FAA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking last week to increase the rest period for flight attendants. Lawmakers pointed out, however, that the rulemaking process isn't necessary because the rules for breaks are already spelled out in the law. Mr. Elwell also pointed to efforts to develop flight attendant fatigue risk management plans, a separate activity required by the 2018 law. He said the agency has only received 28 plans from airlines, with 20 still missing.


Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need any additional information.

Emily Tranter

Senate Confirms FAA Administrator

The Senate confirmed former airline executive Stephen Dickson to run the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. The Senate vote to confirm Mr. Dickson was 52-40.

N.O.I.S.E. has worked previously with Mr. Dickson in its work with the NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC).

Mr. Dickson previously served as the senior vice president-flight operations for Delta Air Lines Inc. While at Delta, Mr. Dickson served in several posts advising the government on modernizing the air-traffic system, which will be one of his top responsibilities at the FAA. Mr. Dickson also attended the Air Force Academy and was a fighter pilot before flying for Delta. He retired from the airline on October 1, 2018.

The FAA Administrator job has been vacant since Michael Huerta, who had been appointed by President Barack Obama, stepped down in early 2018 at the end of his five-year term. Since Administrator Huerta stepped down, Daniel Elwell has been serving as the FAA's Acting Administrator.

In addition to the confirmation of Mr. Dickson, both the House and Senate passed a special waiver for Mr. Elwell to keep his job as the Deputy Administrator at the Federal Aviation Administration. The waiver (S. 2249) allows for two former military officers to fill top FAA spots at the same time. The measure awaits the president's signature to allow Mr. Elwell and Senate-confirmed Steve Dickson to serve as deputy and administrator respectively.


Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need any additional information.

Emily Tranter

President Nominates FAA Administrator

President Donald Trump named former airline executive Stephen Dickson to run the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday, March 19.

The FAA Administrator job has been vacant since Michael Huerta, who had been appointed by President Barack Obama, stepped down in early 2018 at the end of his five-year term. Since Administrator Huerta stepped down, Daniel Elwell has been serving as the FAA's acting administrator.

N.O.I.S.E. has worked previously with Mr. Dickson in its work with the NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC).

Mr. Dickson, who was senior vice president-flight operations for Delta Air Lines Inc., needs Senate confirmation before taking over the agency that oversees the aircraft industry and operates the world's largest air-traffic system.

The arrival of Mr. Dickson would come as the agency faces scrutiny for its role in approving the Boeing Co. 737 Max for service before two fatal crashes of the jetliner.

While at Delta, Dickson served in several posts advising the government on modernizing the air-traffic system, which will be one of his top responsibilities if he takes over control of the FAA. Mr. Dickson attended the Air Force Academy and was a fighter pilot before flying for Delta. He retired from the airline on October 1.

FAA Reauthorization 2018

House and Senate negotiators have agreed on legislative language to reauthorize Federal Aviation programs for five years, until 2023, setting the stage for votes this week.

The House passed the legislation on Wednesday, September 27 to reauthorize federal aviation programs for five years, sending the measure to the Senate with only a few days until the current authorization expires.

The bill (H.R. 302), which passed by a vote of 398 to 23, also includes the Disaster Recovery Reform Act, the National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act, and the Transportation Security Administration reauthorization, among other non-aviation provisions.

The House also passed an FAA extension (H.R. 6897) that would give the current authorization through October 7, in order to give additional time for the Senate in case the calendar is not conducive to a vote before the September 30 deadline.

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) said that he is intending for the Senate to take up the new authorization did not comment on passing an extension. The chamber must decide whether to take up the full reauthorization or the short-term extension.
Lawmakers included several provisions to address concerns about increased airport noise levels caused by new flight paths.

  • The bill would require the FAA to study the potential health impacts of flight noise and the feasibility of amending existing departure procedures.

  • The Transportation Department would have to finish its evaluation of alternatives to its current noise metric, the Day-Night Level 65 decibel limit, within one year of the bill's enactment.

  • The FAA would have to consider using diverging departure flight paths or lateral spacing to address community noise concerns when proposing or adjusting navigation departure procedures.

  • The measure would create a pilot program to allow stage 2 aircraft that don't meet current FAA sound requirements to operate at as many as four medium hub or nonhub airports that meet certain criteria. The aircraft couldn't operate more than 10 flights per month. The pilot would terminate 10 years after the bill's enactment, or when no stage 2 aircraft remain in service.

  • Each FAA regional administrator would have to designate an ombudsman to address public concerns about airport noise.

  • The FAA would have to make recommendations for revising land use compatibility guidelines to reduce noise exposure within two years of the bill's enactment. The measure would require a number of additional studies on noise effects and ways to mitigate it.

The legislation authorizes the FAA's core Airport Improvement Program construction grants at their current level of $3.35 billion per year, through 2023. The measure authorizes $1.02 billion for the program in the fiscal year 2019. Funding then would rise slightly each year after that, to a maximum of $1.11 billion in fiscal 2023. AIP is financed by user fees that flow into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund; the new grants would come from the general fund. One difference is that under the 2018 appropriation measure, the new grants carry a 100% federal share; the proposed authorization bill would cap the federal share at 80%.

The reauthorization would also require the FAA to prepare a report on the status of its NextGen technology upgrade program. Delays with the program were one of the concerns that led to calls for privatizing air traffic control in previous FAA reauthorization bills. The FAA would have to report annually on the return on its investment in the NextGen program. Based on the reports, it would then have to develop a NextGen priority list.

Among the other changes included within the bill, the FAA would have to revise its noise standards to include supersonic aircraft. It would have to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to authorize supersonic flights by December 31, 2019. The FAA would then be required to gather fresh data on supersonic travel and develop new rules setting noise standards. The legislation states that by the end of 2019, rules governing a new application process should be in place for companies looking to develop supersonic aircraft. It added that regulations governing flights that travel faster than the speed of sound should be in place by the end of 2020.

The N.O.I.S.E. Organization is pleased that Congress continues to put emphasis on noise reduction provisions and we will continue to engage with Congress and the FAA to make sure that appropriate stakeholders are considered and brought to the table to ensure that enacted laws are beneficial to communities and encourage continued collaboration between all parties.

Alert - N.O.I.S.E. Signs Letter Opposing Overland Supersonic Flights Sent to Senate

This week, N.O.I.S.E. signed a letter that was sent to the U.S. Senate opposing the authorization of overland supersonic flights in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Authorization bill. N.O.I.S.E. joined thirty-seven other environmental, public-health and community groups that also signed onto the letter. The letter lays out various negative impacts that would result from the operation of supersonic civilian aircraft over the mainland United States, including the harmful noise pollution supersonic flights would expose people to. 

The full letter can be found here.

The supersonic aircraft language was included in the Senate FAA bill as the Lee-Gardner amendment, which was passed in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in 2017, and would require the FAA to set a US domestic landing and takeoff noise standard for supersonic aircraft no more stringent than the 2006 Stage 4 limits for large aircrafts as well as promulgate a rule within 3 years to replace the 1973 overland flight ban on supersonic aircraft with an en-route noise standard. If the FAA fails to set such a standard, the overland flight ban would be automatically repealed.

The Senate language here is particularly problematic because it is extremely unlikely that the FAA could develop an en-route noise standard to replace the overland flight ban in 3 year; therefore, the main effect of this language is to repeal the sonic boom ban without replacing it.

The letter was sent as staff meetings between Republican and Democratic staff from both the House and Senate began on Monday, August 27 to negotiate a compromise aviation bill that could potentially lay the groundwork for a bill to be attached with an appropriations agreement. The deadline for both the FAA reauthorization and appropriations legislation is September 30, which is quickly approaching. 

N.O.I.S.E. has communicated our organization's priorities to the Committee and reiterated our support for continued collaboration between Congress, the FAA, communities and stakeholders to find reasonable and common-sense solutions to the impacts of aviation noise. Community impacts of aviation noise should be considered as a crucial part of the calculation that determines the overall benefits of flight path changes and emphasized the importance of two-way communication with noise affected communities when developing the final design of new airspace.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need additional information.

 Emily Tranter

 National Coordinator

National Organization to Insure a Sound-Controlled Environment (N.O.I.S.E.)

Alert - N.O.I.S.E. Letter Sent to House Transportation Committee

Last week, N.O.I.S.E. sent a letter to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to make them aware of our organization’s interest in the pending FAA Reauthorization Bill (HR 4). In the letter, we made the case that the community impacts of aviation noise should be considered as a crucial part of the calculation that determines the overall benefits of flight path changes and emphasized the importance of two-way communication with noise-affected communities when developing the final design of new airspace. The full letter can be found here.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need additional information.

 Emily Tranter

 National Coordinator

National Organization to Insure a Sound-Controlled Environment (N.O.I.S.E.)

FAA Airport Noise Metric Review

We wanted to make you aware of the aviation and aviation noise-related provisions that were included in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which was passed by Congress and signed by the President in late March.

First, the bill, which funds the government through September 2018, also extended the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Authorization until September 30, 2018.

Notably, a provision was included in the report language of the bill that directs the FAA to examine new metrics beyond DNL to determine aircraft noise impacts. Additionally, it calls for the FAA to evaluate other methods to address community airplane noise concerns, and encourages the agency to make these recommendations based on actual noise levels.

N.O.I.S.E. supports the FAA's continued review of alternative noise metrics and will continue to work with Congress and the FAA to advocate for long-term, meaningful solutions such as a metric review. We will keep you apprised of any further developments.

The Omnibus also included Federal Appropriations for the year. The FAA received $14.7 billion in discretionary appropriation and a total of $18 billion in budgetary resources including outlays from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. This is a $1.6 billion increase from fiscal year 2017. The Omnibus dedicated $1.27 billion for the FAA NextGen technology upgrade and modernization investments, which is $238.9 million more than fiscal 2017.

The Omnibus also includes new $1 billion discretionary grants for airports, particularly in small and rural areas.

Finally, the Omnibus provided $165 million for the Contract Tower program, directing the Transportation Department to accelerate new towers' entry into the program.

The reauthorization until September 30, 2018, gives Congress more time to negotiate numerous key aviation policy issues important to the aviation industry that may be included in a long-term authorization bill.

ALERT -- Legislative Summit Agenda

We cordially invite you to join us this Monday for our annual N.O.I.S.E. Legislative Summit on Monday March 12th from 1-5 PM at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC! The complete agenda for this event can be found by clicking here. 

We are excited to announce that this year's Legislative Summit will feature a presentation from Lianne Hart, from the FAA's Office of Community Engagement. During the Legislative Summit, we will also have presentations featuring Councilmember Ambrose Clay of College Park Georgia and Emily Tranter, N.O.I.S.E. National Coordinator. The presentations will include N.O.I.S.E. staff and stakeholders on proposed legislative priorities for 2018 and an overview of developments in health-impacts studies of aviation noise.

This Summit will present attendees with a unique opportunity to discuss FAA policy and share local perspectives with other community leaders affected by airport noise. Join us and make sure that your voice is heard!

The event will be on Monday March 12th from 1:00pm to 5:00pm in the Tyler Room at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington D.C. This is a free event. Then join us afterward for an Airport N.O.I.S.E. reception from 5:00pm to 6:00pm in the Truman Room of the Marriott Wardman Park for appetizers and refreshments.

Please feel free to bring additional guests and colleagues.

Please RSVP to our N.O.I.S.E. Communications Director Vince Spinner (vmspinner@locklaw.com) to register. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!

ALERT -- Agenda for Policy Summit and Community Involvement Workshop

We wanted to remind you that N.O.I.S.E. will be hosting our annual Policy Summit and Community Involvement Workshop next week at the National League of Cities Convention at the National League of Cities Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina on Wednesday, November 15.

The complete agenda for the event can be found by clicking here. 

 The event will take place on Wednesday November 15th from 1:00pm to 4:00pm in Room 206 A&B at the Charlotte Convention Center. Then join us afterward for an Airport N.O.I.S.E. reception from 4:00pm to 5:00pm in Room 204 of the Charlotte Convention Center for appetizers and refreshments.

This year's Policy Summit event will feature updates on federal policy that impacts air traffic control changes, as well as presentations from airport noise officers and community advocates who are on the front lines of aviation noise policy.

Registration is free, so please email N.O.I.S.E. Communications Director, Vince Spinner at vmspinner@locklaw.com to register. 

Don't miss this opportunity to connect with industry experts and your fellow communities to learn more about how you can work towards solutions to the negative impacts of aviation noise on your community. Please feel free to bring your neighbors and colleagues.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need additional information.

 Emily Tranter

 National Coordinator

National Organization to Insure a Sound-Controlled Environment (N.O.I.S.E.)

Air Traffic Noise and Pollution Expert Consensus Act of 2017 Introduced

We wanted you to be aware that Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-MA) has introduced H.R. 3938 the Air Traffic Noise and Pollution Expert Consensus Act of 2017.

The legislation seeks to address community concerns about airplane noise and pollution by requiring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to sponsor an Expert Consensus Report issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on the health effects of airplanes flying over residential areas. These reports are produced by the National Academies examine scientific and technological issues of national importance. Under the bill, the National Academies would be required to convene a committee of health and environmental science experts within 30 days. The committee would examine the health impacts of air traffic noise and pollution and issue the report with their findings.

The report would be submitted to the FAA Administrator, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and relevant Congressional Committees. In addition the legislation would make available the best scientific information on the negative health impacts of air traffic noise and pollution

The Legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives on October 4, and has been referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Cosponsors of the legislation currently include: Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL), Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO), Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA), Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Congresswoman Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA), Congressman Scott Peters (D-CA), Congressman Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA), Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL).

Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Gets Extension

Congress sent a six-month reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to President Trump on Thursday, September 29, 2017, passing a measure that also includes tax relief to areas affected by Hurricanes Maria, Harvey, and Irma. The Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017 (H.R. 3823) was passed by unanimous consent in both chambers allowing Congress to avoid a costly shutdown of the FAA.

The extension has very few substantive changes from the previous FAA authorization, but it serves to allow more time for debate on substantive policy changes including whether Air Traffic Control (ATC) should be privatized. The FAA is allowed to continue operating through March 31, 2018, under the current extension. This gives the House and Senate only about six months to work through various policy issues in the agency's full reauthorization.

While this legislation was considered by the House of Representatives earlier this week, it was brought to a vote with a Closed Rule - this means that the amendments the Quiet Skies sought to put forward could not be considered. This was done in order to expedite the process of passing the authorization in order to finish it by the September 30th deadline. It is likely that when a new reauthorization is considered and passed there will be more opportunities for amendments to the legislation.

Right now the primary roadblock to the new reauthorization is a disagreement between the House and the Senate as to if ATC should be privatized. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the bill H.R. 2997 on June 27, 2017, which includes the provisions to spin off ATC into a nongovernmental entity. House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) has been the biggest champion of this proposal. This legislation has yet to be approved by the full House, and there yet remains some internal disagreement over the proposal.

In a show of opposition, the House Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill for Fiscal Year 2018 during a full committee markup on July 17, 2017, by a vote of 31-20. The bill opposes the proposal to privatize ATC and would add $1 billion to the NextGen program for the purpose of modernizing ATC within the Federal Aviation Administration.

This creates a division in the House Majority over the ATC privatization proposal.

In the Senate, Chairman John Thune (R-SD) of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation released his own, more traditional FAA reauthorization, (S. 1405) that would keep ATC under the purview of the FAA. The measure passed in the Senate Committee on a voice vote but has yet to be considered by the full Senate. Any proposal to rework ATC would face an even higher threshold in the Senate as it would require bipartisan support of 60 votes to advance.

We will be sure to keep updating N.O.I.S.E. members on developments

Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Bill Advances with Noise Provisions

We wanted you to be aware of the following actions taken by Congress recently regarding the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization bill.

House Bill:

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the bill H.R. 2997 on June 27, 2017 to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by a vote of 32-25 and now the measure has been sent to the full House of Representatives for consideration.

The bill has faced a series of delays, however, due to a controversial proposal to spin off air traffic control (ATC) into a nongovernmental entity. The committee vote was nearly along party lines with just one Republican voting against the measure. House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) has been the biggest proponent of the air traffic proposal. In fact, Chairman Shuster proposed a similar measure in the last Congress to rework ATC, but the legislation never received a floor vote in the House of Representatives.

The bill would reauthorize the FAA through Fiscal Year 2023. The agency's current authorization is set to expire on September 30, 2017. President Trump has endorsed privatizing ATC. His administration included a privatization proposal in its Fiscal Year 2018 budget request. The bill is not currently scheduled for a vote in the House.

In a show of opposition, the House Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill for Fiscal Year 2018 during a full committee markup on July 17, 2017, by a vote of 31-20. The bill opposes the proposal in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on privatizing ATC and would add $1 billion to the NextGen program for the purpose of modernizing ATC within the Federal Aviation Administration.

This creates a division in the House Majority over the ATC privatization proposal.

We are pleased to share that a number of amendments have been offered to the House reauthorization proposal to combat airport noise problems.

The bill would require the FAA to conduct several studies on aviation noise, including:

  • Partnering with a higher education institutions to assess the health effects of flight noise on residents near airports in major metro areas such as Boston, Chicago, New York, northern and southern California, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C. Adverse health effects could include sleep disturbance and elevated blood pressure. The study would also have to compare residents' perceived increases in-flight noise to actual noise data.

  • Recommending whether land use compatibility guidelines around airports should be modified.

  • Increasing community involvement in NextGen technology upgrade projects near metro areas.

  • The Government Accountability Office (GAO) would have to study the effect of phasing out large aircraft classified as stage 3 in the FAA's noise rating system, which doesn't meet current standards for new planes.

The bill would also establish a pilot program for the Transportation Department to give grants of as much as $2.5 million each to as many as six airports for noise mitigation projects within a five-mile radius. Participating airports would be subject to a 50 percent matching requirement. The Transportation Department's airport noise mitigation grant program would also be expanded to include projects at schools near airports.

It would also allow airport operators to request that the FAA consider methods of aircraft separation that set planes on different flight paths to reduce noise when proposing a new departure procedure, or modifying one that would put aircrafts less than 6,000 feet above noise sensitive areas.

In addition to these proposals, the House Appropriation Committee included support for Noise abatement efforts in its Transportation Housing and Urban Development spending bill, which read:

"The committee is encouraged by the additional measures the FAA is taking to enhance outreach to communities affected by new flightpaths. The committee recommendation includes an additional $2,000,000 to support the FAA's ongoing efforts to address community noise concerns."

Senate Bill:

In addition to House Appropriators, the ATC privatization faces skepticism among Senators as Senator John Thune (R-SD), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, released his own, more traditional FAA reauthorization, S. 1405, that would keep ATC under the prevue of the Federal Aviation Administration. The measure passed in the Senate Committee on a voice vote. Any proposal to rework ATC would face an even higher threshold in the Senate as it would require bipartisan support of 60 votes to advance.

We are pleased to share that in the Senate bill process, N.O.I.S.E. worked closely with Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) to help draft and provide amendment language to the bill regarding flexibility for Sound Insulation criteria and funding. Though the amendment wasn't accepted during Mark-up, the Senator's office is working on an amendment to be introduced when the bill is considered on the Senate floor.

We will be sure to keep updating N.O.I.S.E. members on developments. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us directly at ejtranter@locklaw.com.

Emily Tranter