The Week Ahead in Aviation: Impeachment Trial to Dominate Washington
January 17, 2020
Capitol Hill will be fully consumed by the impeachment trial of President Trump next week, with senators set to hear opening arguments on Tuesday. The House is out of session for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday; lawmakers in that chamber will return to Washington the following week.
House Democrats plan to unveil an infrastructure proposal the week of January 27, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said this week. Talks last year between congressional Democrats and the White House over an infrastructure package fell apart due to tensions over the Russia investigation.
In addition to the highly charged political climate in Washington, there are several major hurdles to Congress passing a "big and bold" infrastructure bill this year. The two sides remain far apart on the contours of a potential infrastructure package. It will also be exceedingly difficult to pass major legislation, especially one that may call for a large amount of federal spending and include other controversial proposals, during an election year.
As the infrastructure debate goes on, AAAE continues to urge Congress to raise the federal cap on local Passenger Facility Charges, increase Airport Improvement Program funding, and take other steps to help airports finance much-needed upgrades.
Congressionally Mandated Report Calls for PFC Increase
As we reported this week, the RAND Corporation released a congressionally mandated report that calls for raising the PFC cap to $7.50 for originating passengers and indexing it for inflation. The report suggests that $7.50 is approximately the same level the PFC cap would be today if Congress had adjusted it for inflation since 2000 using the Producer Price Index for construction materials.
"Increasing the PFC cap above the current level of $4.50 would enable those airports that seek additional PFC revenue to initiate their approved projects sooner and pay them off more quickly, lowering costs," the report said.
The report, which Congress required as part of the 2018 FAA reauthorization bill, also suggested changes to AIP, the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and the taxation of airline ancillary fees. Our Airport Alert has details on the airport-related proposals in the report.
Additional Updates
- TSA will cease payments to airports for janitorial services at security screening checkpoints. The agency says the change will affect 103 airports and will be implemented once each airport's agreement expires in 2020. At the request of AAAE, TSA plans to discuss the elimination of funding for janitorial services at airport checkpoints during the next monthly national airport call, which is scheduled for February 6. Our Transportation Security Policy Notice has more information.
- At a House Aviation Subcommittee hearing, lawmakers, union members and other industry representatives discussed the airlines' reliance on contractors for ground services and how such outsourcing can affect compensation and working conditions for contract employees. In his opening remarks, Ranking Member Garret Graves (R-LA) noted the importance of airline contracting to employment and air service for smaller communities. Additional information is available in our Hearing Report.
Please contact Adam if you have any questions or need additional information. Have a great weekend.
