The Week Ahead in Aviation: Congress Returns to Dive into FY 2021 Appropriations Hearings
February 21, 2020
Members of Congress will return to Washington next week as the FY 2021 appropriations process picks up steam, with numerous administration officials traveling to Capitol Hill to discuss various aspects of the White House budget proposal at House and Senate hearings.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf will testify about the FY 2021 DHS budget proposal before the House and Senate DHS Appropriations Subcommittees. Wolf will appear before the Senate subcommittee on Tuesday morning and will testify on the House side the following day.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao will appear before the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee to discuss the DOT budget request on Thursday. Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan is also scheduled to testify that day at a hearing on the agency's budget held by the House DHS Appropriations Subcommittee.
As we reported last week, the Trump Administration in its FY 2021 budget request again proposed to eliminate funding for the TSA law enforcement officer (LEO) reimbursement program and agency staffing of exit lanes, proposals Congress has consistently rejected in the past. The administration also called for ending additional AIP supplemental funding that Congress has provided in recent years.
With the administration targeting supplemental AIP funding, LEO reimbursements and TSA exit lane staffing, it is critical that airports urge their elected officials to support funding for those and other key airport programs. Please contact your lawmakers as soon as possible and urge them to request funding for supplemental AIP grants, LEO reimbursements, exit lane staffing and other airport priorities when they submit their request letters to the Appropriations Committees.
In addition to the budget hearings, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is expected to meet to consider several pieces of legislation, including the Expedited Delivery of Airport Infrastructure Act of 2020 (H.R. 5912). That bill, which was introduced last week by Transportation Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) and Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Garret Graves (R-LA), would allow airports to provide incentive payments to contractors for early completion of AIP-funded projects.
Additional Speakers Announced for Washington Legislative Conference, March 5-6
We hope you can join us in Washington on March 5-6 for the AAAE/ACI-NA Washington Legislative Conference.
Attendees will hear from key members of Congress and administration officials, and will have the opportunity to meet with their lawmakers on Capitol Hill. We have confirmed several additional administration officials who will speak at the conference on Friday.
The following Washington aviation leaders from the administration and Capitol Hill are scheduled to address attendees:
- FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, who will deliver a keynote luncheon address;
- Associate FAA Administrator for Airports Kirk Shaffer;
- TSA Chief of Staff Ryan Propis;
- Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Member, Senate Commerce Committee;
- Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA), Chairman, House Aviation Subcommittee;
- Rep. David Price (D-NC), Chairman, House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee;
- Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Ranking Member, House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee;
- Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA), Chairman, House Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee;
- Rep. John Katko (R-NY), Ranking Member, House Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation Subcommittee;
- Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), Member, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee;
- Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Member, House Ways and Means Committee;
- Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Member, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; and
- Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), Member, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Additional Updates
- A coalition of aviation groups, including the U.S. Contract Tower Association/AAAE, wrote leaders of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees to urge lawmakers to fully fund contract towers, which play a vital role in improving safety and saving taxpayer dollars. Our press release has more information.
- Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced the award of $520.5 million in airport infrastructure grants, the first tranche of FY 2020 funding from the Airport Improvement Program. The announcement included AIP entitlements and discretionary grants but no supplemental AIP grants. Our Regulatory Alert has more.
- DHS announced this week that states may now allow the pre-submission of certain documents through a secure electronic process before an in-person visit to the DMV to obtain a REAL ID. AAAE and other aviation and travel groups have advocated for this change as a step toward improving the REAL ID adoption rate. AAAE continues to coordinate closely with our industry partners, Capitol Hill and DHS to mitigate potential travel disruptions associated with the upcoming October 1 deadline or any potential extensions. See our Airport Alert for more information.
- AAAE has distributed a survey to solicit feedback on the Council on Environmental Quality's proposed rule that would modernize and update the procedural requirements for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We encourage you to provide input before February 26. The survey is here, and there is background information in our Regulatory Alert.
Please contact Adam if you have any questions or would like additional information. As always, have a great weekend.
