It appears political posturing is ramping up as the stalled FAA Reauthorization Bill is once again headed toward a shutdown of the FAA. In a recent meeting of the Aero Club of Washington, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate’s transportation committee, accused the GOP of stubbornly holding up the bill in favor of one airline’s fight to stave off the unionization of its work force, and deemed it unlikely that Congress would resolve the bitter deadlock over long-term federal funding for aviation this year.
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FAA expects to land $5.4B in stopgap funds
Members of Congress appear poised to bring to the floor a bill that will temporarily extend FAA funding through January 2012. The ease with which this tempoary measure is moving forward could pave the way for a resolution this Fall for the long-term FAA Re-Authorization Bill
Read the full article on Politico.com
Continue readingSenate Democrats urge FAA bill settlement
The US Senate is urging renewed talks on the FAA re-authorization bill; however, progress continues to be is stymied over labor issues and federal subsidies for rural commuter air service.
Continue readingFAA Workers Return to Work
In a bipartisan move, a deal was struck today to end the FAA shutdown… However, the long-term FAA re-authorization bill is still stalemated over labor issues and federal subsidies for rural commuter air service.
Continue readingFAA’s James Sizemore addresses aeromodeling questions
Should I buy a Turbine? Will model manufacturing be curtailed as a result of the proposed sUAS regulation? These questions are best answered in a video clip from the AMA open membership meeting at Joe Nall Week, 5/12/2011. In response to a member’s question, James Sizemore from the FAA Unmanned Aircraft Program Office (UAPO) addressed these issues in his remarks.
Continue readingFAA shutdown likely to continue into September
Read reports from USA Today and MSNBC about FAA funding and re-authorization stalled over labor issues and funding for rural commuter air service.
Continue readingCongress Reconvenes to Complete the FAA Re-Authorization Act
After a two week spring break, Congress reconvenes this week and will take up the work of completing the FAA Re-Authorization Act. Both the Senate Bill (S. 223) and the House Bill (H.R. 658) have passed their respective houses and have been sent to Conference Committee for reconciliation. The Senate has officially called for a conference on the legislation and has named its conferees. The House is expected to respond to the request this week. The AMA remains hopeful that the model aviation exemption provided in the Senate version of the bill will be accepted and moved into the final bill.
Continue readingConference Committee to Consider Language to Protect Model Aircraft
The political process of creating legislation is more of an art than a science, and the fact that H.R. 658 does not include an exemption for model aviation (MA) does not necessarily mean there wasn’t support for such an amendment. Quite honestly there is a significant amount of backing in the House for our issues, and numerous Representatives have come forward with pledges of support and offers to assist in protecting MA from onerous regulation.
Continue readingHouse approves (H.R. 658)
No April Fools…
Yesterday, 4/1, the House voted 223-196 to approve the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act (H.R. 658). The bill would reauthorize the FAA’s operations and programs for four years, at an overall funding level of $59.7 billion. The House bill essentially rolls back FAA spending authorization to 2008 levels. The House bill does not include an amendment mirroring the one included in S. 223 which exempts modeling activity conducted in accordance with a community-based set of guidelines from regulation.
Continue readingWhy…?
This is probably the single most prevalent question posed by the aeromodeling enthusiast when discussing the inclusion of model airplanes in the proposed small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) regulation. Why is it necessary to regulate model aviation?
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