House Aviation Bill Would Enhance Airport Construction Program

What happened: The bipartisan leadership of the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee June 9 introduced a bill reauthorizating federal aviation programs for five years – the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act.

Key components include:

• An increase in core federal airport construction spending via the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) annually from $3.35 billion to $4 billion – the first increase in 17 years.
• Project delivery improvements known as “One Federal Decision” for environmental approvals.
• Potential price adjustment flexibility for grant agreements to reflect commodity and labor volatility.
• Maintaining the Passenger Facility Charge cap – a fee airports charge travelers to help finance construction projects, which has been capped since 2000. ARTBA urged the cap to be increased or eliminated entirely.

Why it matters: Increasing AIP funding was a key priority during ARTBA’s May Federal Issues Program and Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) Fly-In, when advocates met with lawmakers and staff on Capitol Hill. A letter and one-pager on these priorities was sent to Capitol Hill.

What’s next: The legislation will be considered by the T&I Committee June 13. The Senate Commerce Committee announced Friday it will hold a markup on its FAA bill June 15, with floor consideration in both chambers possible this summer. Most aviation program laws are set to expire Sept. 30.

Bipartisan support for increasing AIP funding is a key first step, and ARTBA will work to ensure it remains intact before the legislation goes to the House floor.