Senate Republicans excluded a proposal to privatize the nation’s air traffic control system pushed by President Trump and some Republicans from a major Federal Aviation Authority reauthorization bill
The Senate bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration keeps the air traffic control system under the jurisdiction of the FAA, despite a June 5 push by Trump and House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., to put it under the control of an independent board.
The Senate legislation comes a day after the House Transportation Committee introduced its own FAA reauthorization bill, which calls for privatizing the air traffic control system.
The Senate bill, written by the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, appears to have the bipartisan support it likely would not enjoy if the privatization provision was included.
Democrats do not support privatizing the air traffic control system.
“This is a good example of what can happen when Republicans and Democrats work toward the same goal,” to panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, said. “With this bill, we’re putting the flying public first and insisting they receive better treatment from the airlines.”
The Senate bill would create new consumer protections for airline passengers, including a prohibition on airlines removing passengers once they have been approved by a gate attendant. The bill would add new rules for drone operation, such as an online test requirement for larger drones.
The bill would also newly require balloon pilots to obtain an FAA medical certificate. The requirement was added after last year’s deadly balloon crash in Texas. It was determined later the pilot was under the influence of several prescription drugs found in his system.
The current authorization expires on September 30.
The Senate bill is now directly at odds with the House bill, as was the case a year ago when both chambers introduced FAA measures.
It’s unclear how Trump’s support of privatization will impact the negotiations between the House and Senate on a compromise bill. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., according to aides, is “supportive” of the privatization language.
Advocates of privatization say the nation’s air traffic control system is antiquated and has failed to competently spend millions of dollars provided for modernizing the system, which still uses radar rather than GPS.
Republicans have suggested air traffic control privatization could also be included in an infrastructure bill if it does not pass as part of FAA reauthorization.
