On September 29, 2018, the Senate passed a short-term, one week extension of the current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Authorization Act. This extension, which was also passed by the House of Representatives, simply gives the Senate until October 7 to finish its work on the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. The extension also gives you more time to let the Senate know how this bill would negatively affect our safe, long-standing hobby.
As we’ve said before, this bill includes significant modifications to our hobby. While some of the changes are positive, and include provisions that AMA has championed, overall the bill is problematic, such as a 400 AGL altitude cap in Class G airspace. You can view our assessment of the negative provisions here or read Section 349 in full here.
We must make our voices heard that the bill will unjustly harm our safe community. By expressing your concerns to Congress, it creates opportunities for AMA to resolve the problematic areas, even if we are unable to prevent the bill from becoming law.
As always, thank you for your efforts to contact Congress. They are making a difference and we appreciate all your support for AMA and our hobby. Please know, regardless of the outcome of the reauthorization process, AMA will continue to work with Congress and the FAA to fight for relief from onerous regulations for our members.
Lastly, please continue to monitor your emails, social media and www.modelaircraft.org/gov for the latest information. There you can also learn more about how this bill will affect our hobby.
Thank you,
AMA Government Relations Team