On 5 August, Congress passed a short-term FAA extension ending a two week partial shutdown of the FAA. The 14-day shutdown cost the federal government nearly $400 million in lost revenue because the FAA was not allowed to collect taxes on air tickets.
The shutdown also furloughed approximately 3,500 FAA employees and nearly 72,000 construction workers working on airport improvement projects across the country. The furlough hit the UAS offices especially hard, decreasing the Unmanned Aircraft Programme Office staff by half and the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Group by more than 80%. It is too early to tell what this set back means for UAS integration and NextGen efforts.
However, this short-term extension, the 21st since the last FAA bill expired in 2007, only funds the FAA through 16 September, which means that Congress will only have one week, after their summer recess, to pass another extension or find agreement on the larger, long-term FAA bill.
Rep. John Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said upon the Senate’s passage of H.R. 2253, “it’s vital that the House and Senate leaderships and respective committees, in the next several weeks, work to ensure the end of a 4 ½ year delay in passing a long-term FAA bill so there will be no need for a 22nd extension. If the Senate refuses to negotiate on the few remaining issues, they can be assured that every tool at our disposal will be utilized to ensure a long-term bill is signed into law. The FAA and our aviation system are too important to the American economy to be left behind, particularly when the economy desperately needs our help.”
Source: AUVSI