Arlington, Va. – Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Eric Fanning today praised Congress for their bipartisan vote to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for five years, marking the end of a series of extensions that yielded uncertainty for critical programs at the FAA.
“The United States is the global leader in aviation, the gold standard of safety, and the birthplace of next-generation innovation that will transform the way we travel. Today’s vote reflects a unified commitment to maintaining that position,” Fanning said. “The FAA’s work is critical and shapes the future of aviation. This legislation will empower the FAA to modernize their processes for safety and efficiency, to drive technological advancement forward, and to develop the workforce needed to achieve these and many of AIA’s other priorities. AIA is grateful to Congress, especially to Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Cruz, Chairman Graves, and Ranking Member Larsen, for their efforts to pass this critically important legislation, and we look forward to seeing President Biden sign it into law.”
AIA championed key priorities that were included in the legislation, including:
- Safety and efficiency through digitization of FAA system (Sec. 220);
- Global aviation safety and efficiency in the FAA’s international offices (Sec. 358);
- Workforce Grants Programs (Sec. 440);
- Rules for operation of powered-lift aircraft (Sec. 955);
- The FAA’s Environmental Research – Aircraft Technologies and Fuels program, CLEEN (Sec. 1008); and
- The Aircraft Radio Altimeter Development, Testing, and Certification fund (Sec. 1018).
AIA has routinely called on Congress to reauthorize the FAA for five years and sent a letter to congressional leaders in November calling it “vitally important.”
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