Arlington, Va. — AIA supports the “FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act” (S. 223) approved by the U.S. Senate Feb. 17.
“We’re very pleased that the Senate has passed this vital piece of legislation,” said AIA President and CEO Marion C. Blakey. “Civil aviation is a huge economic engine for our country, and programs like NextGen have a strong economic and environmental return on investment.”
The Senate bill addresses key AIA priorities such as environmental streamlining, third-party performance-based navigation procedure design, the establishment of NextGen performance metrics and aircraft equipage incentives. AIA also commends the Senate’s acknowledgement of the benefits of bilateral aviation safety agreements. These agreements increase FAA’s efficiency, enhance FAA’s international safety oversight and help protect U.S. jobs.
“This bill is very much in step with the House bill that was reported out of committee earlier this week,” said Blakey. “It looks very likely that Congress will pass an FAA Reauthorization Bill this year, a very welcome outcome.”
