Congress has begun hashing out the final act in the most recent FAA funding battle. Bills in the House and the Senate are scheduled for votes and the differing measures could proceed to a joint House-Senate conference committee for final resolution later this fall. Some Capitol Hill observers expect that a conference agreement could be reached before the end of this month. If not, FAA funding will be left to a continuing resolution until the matter can be reconsidered next year.
The Senate bill, S.1300, partially funds the nation’s air traffic control system by imposing a $25 surcharge on each civilian turbine-powered aircraft flight, including those flown by the airlines. The House bill, H.R. 2881, would provide additional revenue by raising the aviation fuel tax from 21.8 to 30.7 cents per gallon on jet-A and from 19.3 to 24.1 cents on avgas. Neither revenue measure would provide anywhere near the level of funding analysts say is necessary to finance air traffic control modernization and runway/airport infrastructure expansion and improvement programs. Imposition of the $25 surcharge under the Senate bill is expected to produce only $400 million annually, according to the Congressional Research Service. To put this in perspective, the House bill would provide around $65 billion in FAA funding between 2008 and 2011 for airport improvement, FAA facilities and equipment, and ongoing operations.
