The US Senate approved a USD$63 billion bill on Monday that funds the FAA for four years and approves new steps for the government to update the air traffic system.
The Senate cleared the measure by a 75-to-20 vote, sending it to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature. The House of Representatives approved it last week.
The compromise legislation sets out a blueprint for predictable funding of the Federal Aviation Administration, which receives about USD$15 billion annually to operate air traffic control at more than 400 airports.
The agency also inspects commercial aircraft and oversees airline safety operations and airport improvement projects.
The agency has operated under 23 straight temporary spending bills since the previous long-term law authorising its budget expired in 2007. The current stopgap spending measure expires on February 17. A fight over federal spending prompted a partial shutdown of the FAA last summer for two weeks.
Congress has fought for the past four years over federal spending levels, fees, limits on airport uses and government subsidies for service to rural communities.
Passage was assured, however, when House and Senate negotiators struck a surprise compromise last month on a provision affecting union elections at commercial carriers.
The deal partially rolled back a regulatory change that made it easier for unions to organise. More than a dozen unions objected strongly to the compromise and launched a last-minute lobbying push to head it off.
Other key provisions of the four-year bill include:
-- Roughly USD$3 billion annually for the next phase of transforming the US air traffic system from a radar-based system to one relying on global positioning satellites.
-- A congressional statement opposing a controversial European Union law that makes airlines pay for emissions from their aircraft when flying to and from Europe. The Obama administration also opposes the measure and is trying to get European states to resolve the matter at the United Nations.
-- A provision permitting the Transportation Department to offer loan guarantees to airlines to help them pay for air traffic equipment needed on their planes.
-- A USD$190 million annual outlay for subsidising airline service to rural communities.
Source: Reuters
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