Airport Alert: President Signs FY22 Omnibus Spending Measure With Notable Wins for Airports
March 16, 2022
On March 15, President Biden signed into law the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill to fund the federal government through the current fiscal year, which ends September 30. Although the final annual funding bill wasn't ultimately enacted until more than five months into the fiscal year, there was good news for airports in the waiting as described in more detail below with nearly $4 billion in funding for AIP grants, increased funding for the Contract Tower Program, and funding for both the TSA law enforcement reimbursement program and for the agency to continue staffing exit lanes.
The positive results on virtually all our identified airport priorities are a testament to the continued engagement of airports across the country. The AAAE team is grateful for your support through the Federal Affairs Membership, your participation on our weekly calls, and your regular interaction with your congressional delegations. As attention now turns to the fiscal year 2023 funding process “ which is expected to begin in the weeks ahead with the release of the Biden Administration's formal budget request “ we will need your help again to ensure that airport priorities continue to receive favorable attention on Capitol Hill. The path ahead for FY23 funding bills promises to be bumpy in light of fierce mid-term election-year political posturing, so it will be critical that all airports remind their elected officials of the importance of funding key programs and priorities.
Summary of Final FY22 Omnibus Spending Bill
FAA Programs
Overall, the final bill includes more than $18.46 billion for the FAA “ some $495.2 million more than the FY21 funding level. Additional details on DOT/FAA spending are available in the joint explanatory statement accompanying the DOT funding division of the omnibus spending measure
Facilities and Equipment: The measure proposes more than $2.89 billion for FAA facilities and equipment, including NextGen programs.
Operations: The bill includes $11.414 billion for FAA operations.
Research, Engineering, and Development: The measure includes $248.5 million for research, engineering, and development.
Airport Improvement Program
Traditional Airport Improvement Program: The omnibus includes $3.35 billion for the traditional AIP account in FY22. Of that amount, $127.2 million is designated for administrative expenses, $15 million is for the Airport Cooperative Research Program, approximately $41 million is for Airport Technology Research, and $10 million will go to the Small Community Air Service Development Program.
AIP Discretionary Grants: The agreement directs the FAA to 'consider the full range of flight activities (such as flight training, air cargo, emergency response, pilot training, etc.) and associated metrics when considering AIP discretionary grants.'
Continued EDS Prohibition: The omnibus continues the prohibition against the use of AIP funds for 'the replacement of baggage conveyor systems, reconfiguration of terminal baggage areas, or other airport improvements that are necessary to install bulk explosive detection systems.'
Local Match: The omnibus maintains a narrow provision that allows small airports to pay the lower 5 percent match for any unfinished phased projects that were underway prior to the passage of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012.
Burdensome Regulations: The joint explanatory statement accompanying the package 'recommends the FAA identify opportunities to eliminate unnecessary regulations and streamline burdensome regulations and identify areas where more autonomy can be given to local jurisdictions with a better understanding of needs and challenges in building and maintaining infrastructure.'
Boarding Bridges: The agreement directs the FAA to consult with the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Attorney General to develop a list of entities that are: 1) foreign State-owned enterprises and 2) have been determined by a Federal court to have misappropriated trade secrets of U.S. companies.
NPIAS: The agreement 'directs the FAA to expeditiously review requests for entry into the NPIAS. Public-use airports that meet all applicable criteria and which have had significant and material investment from their local communities should be included in the NPIAS.'
Supplemental Airport Improvement Program
Supplemental AIP: The omnibus includes almost $554.2 million in supplemental AIP discretionary funding. Of that amount, approximately $279.2 million is reserved for earmarks, which are officially known as 'Community Project Funding' requests. The joint explanatory statement indicates that funding for earmarks 'shall not diminish or prejudice any application or geographic region to receive other discretionary grants or loans.'
Noise: The joint explanatory statement 'directs the FAA to ensure that AIP funds are made available to reduce the impact of noise on local communities.'
Airport Zero Emissions Vehicle and Infrastructure Pilot Program and Voluntary Airport Low Emissions Program: The agreement 'supports the use of AIP funds for the ZEV and VALE programs' and expects the FAA to provide not less than $25 million 'of the funds made available for supplemental discretionary AIP funding from the general fund for ZEV and VALE.'
Small Community Programs
Contract Towers: The final measure includes $178 million in dedicated funding for the Contract Tower and Contract Tower Cost Share Programs “ $5.2 million more than the current level. This is the same amount that AAAE and the U.S. Contract Tower Association requested. That increase would fund all 260 contract towers currently in the program and allow the FAA to add other airports to the program during this fiscal year.
The bill also 'prohibits funds from being used to withhold from consideration and approval certain application for participation in the contract tower program, or for certain reevaluations of cost-share program participation.'
The joint explanatory statement directs the FAA to 'provide flexibility to contract towers at small-hub airports with unique terrain and winter weather challenges to include a minimum of two controllers during all regularly scheduled commercial flights, where permissible under current law.'
The measure also requires the agency to address all open recommendations in a recent Office of Inspector General report on contract tower staffing and 'notify the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations of any challenges receiving relevant staffing data from the contractors.'
Essential Air Service: The final measure includes $350 million in discretionary funding for the Essential Air Service Program. The joint explanatory statement directs DOT to 'provide the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations quarterly briefings on overflight fee collections and program costs to ensure continued success of the Essential Air Service program.'
Small Community Air Service Development: The final measure includes $10 million in AIP funding for the Small Community Air Service Development Program. This is the same amount that Congress approved for the program in FY21 and $10 million more than the administration requested.
Remote Towers: The measure includes $4.9 million for remote towers 'to fund contract controllers for type certification at Leesburg, to complete the active testing phase of the operational evaluation at Fort Collins, and to begin the validation and verification at Fort Collins.'
The agreement also directs FAA to 'submit a plan and schedule for type certification of remote towers systems no later than 90 days after enactment of this act. The plan and schedule should focus on accelerating type certification for the safe operation of remote towers and identify any challenges the agency faces in doing so.'
Noise and Environment
Additional Funding for Community Engagement: The bill includes an additional $8 million from the FAA Operations account to 'support regular engagement with communities affected by noise, including technical and analytical support for communities that may not have such expertise.'
Aviation Emissions and Noise: The bill includes an increase of $37.7 million for research on reducing aviation emissions and noise.
Noise: As described earlier, the joint explanatory statement directs the FAA to ensure that supplemental AIP funds are 'made available to reduce the impact of noise on local communities.'
Airport Zero Emissions Vehicle and Infrastructure Pilot Program and Voluntary Airport Low Emissions Program: As mentioned above, the agreement expects the FAA to provide not less than $25 million of supplemental AIP funding for ZEV and VALE.
Miscellaneous
Cost Free Space: The final bill includes a AAAE-backed proposal that would continue to prohibit the FAA from requiring airports to provide space free of charge in airport-owned buildings.
Airport Cooperative Research Program: As mentioned above, the measure includes $15 million in AIP funding for the Airport Cooperative Research Program.
Contract Weather Observers: The bill would continue to block the FAA from eliminating the Contact Weather Observers program at any airport.
Safety Management Systems: The bill directs the FAA to 'prioritize issuing a rulemaking requiring design and production approval holders for aviation products to establish a SMS, as required by section 102 of the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act.'
Aviation Workforce Development Programs: The bill includes $10 million for the Aviation Workforce Development Program. It also calls on the FAA to prioritize grants under the program 'to academic institutions for flight operations, aviation maintenance, commercial aviation, unmanned aircraft systems, aviation technology, and training at the community college level or through an accredited aviation professional program.' It also instructs the agency to 'prioritize maintaining and growing workforce levels at maintenance, repair, and overhaul facilities.'
Veterans' Pilot Training: The bill includes $1 million for the veterans' pilot training program with funds coming from the NextGen account.
Cybersecurity: The bill includes $38 million for cybersecurity and directs the FAA 'to regularly update the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on the prevalence and trends of any major cybersecurity compromises or incidents.'
Department of Homeland Security
Overall, the omnibus appropriations bill includes $57.7 billion in discretionary appropriations for DHS and its component agencies, including TSA and CBP. This amount is $5 billion above the administration's budget request and $5.6 billion above the FY21 funding level. Additional details on the DHS/TSA/CBP spending provisions in the bill can be viewed in the joint explanatory statement accompanying the DHS division of the omnibus spending bill.
Transportation Security Administration
The bill provides a total of $8.49 billion for TSA, $23 million above the administration's request and $176 million above the FY21 funding level. The increase in funding is specifically designated for low probability of false alarm algorithm screening and additional pipeline cybersecurity activities.
Key funding recommendations for airport priorities include:
-$3.68 billion for Transportation Security Officers (TSOs), the same level as requested. Unfortunately, the administration's budget request assumed that passenger volume levels would be similar to what was experienced in 2018 and reduced the overall TSO number by 1,505 in FY22.
-Full funding for TSA to continue monitoring exit lanes from the sterile area of the airport at those locations where TSA monitored them on December 1, 2013.
-$46.5 million to fully fund the Law Enforcement Officer Reimbursement Program.
-$104.5 million for the procurement and deployment of computed tomography (CT) screening equipment. According to the budget request, this funding will permit TSA to procure 126 systems, equally divided between base and full-sized CT units; however, this quantity may change based on the final contract pricing and airport needs.
-$26.2 million for credential authentication technology.
-$30 million for reimbursements to airports for legacy purchases of in-line explosive detection systems.
The joint explanator statement that accompanies the bill contains the following notable items:
Staffing and Workload Report: The statement directs TSA to provide monthly reports on the agency's personnel levels along with the travel volumes during the same period. The report shall also include information on key TSA performance measures, such as travel volumes and wait times at checkpoints, as well as incorporate deployment of new equipment to identify how changes in personnel and assets impact TSA's operational capabilities.
Passenger Volume Growth: The explanatory statement directs TSA to include comprehensive information on passenger volume forecasts in its future budget requests.
Screening Workforce Pay Strategy: TSA is required to report quarterly on its pay reform efforts and the subsequent effect on TSO retention levels. Additionally, TSA is required to report on the number of TS0s hired and corresponding retention levels since fiscal year 2016, delineated by fiscal year, and incorporate information about the impact new technologies and equipment bring more capabilities to the workforce.
Credential Authentication Technology (CAT): TSA is required to provide a report within 90 days to the Committees detailing airports at which CAT is currently deployed, airports at which CAT is not currently deployed, and a plan for the full procurement and deployment of CAT systems at all of the Nation's airports.
Touchless Screening: TSA is required to provide a report within 90 days detailing options to enhance the agency's equipment capabilities to limit interactions that are not conducive to a touchless screening environment without adversely impacting the core security mission.
Canine Teams: TSA is directed to brief the Committees on efforts to improve the effectiveness of its passenger screening canine teams.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The bill provides $14.8 billion for CBP, $25.7 million above the administration's request but $428.2 million below the FY21 funding level. Key highlights from the CBP section include:
User Fee Shortfall: The agreement provides $650 million to compensate for the pandemic related reduction in customs and immigration user fee revenue as a result of a significant decline in international travel. Prior to the pandemic, these fees accounted for about one-third of CBP's annual revenue and funded about 40 percent of its officers, including those at airports.
CBP Officers: While the agreement does not provide any funding for additional CBP officers in FY22, it sustains funding for the current officer workforce. The explanatory statement directs CBP to ensure that these officers are appropriately deployed to large hub international airports and seaports in noncontiguous border States as well as provide staffing at new and expanded aviation ports-of-entry to meet the demand of arriving passenger volumes based on data provided by the airport and airlines and incorporate it into their workload staffing model.
Overtime: The bill retains the annual overtime cap at $45,000 for CBP officers and continues to permit the Secretary to waive this cap on an individual basis in the case of immigration emergencies.
Reimbursable Service Agreements: The statement directs CBP to provide each port operator with information on baseline service levels and report quarterly on CBP's adherence to these baseline service levels.
Community Project Funding
Earmarks: The omnibus appropriations bill includes $205,099,000 in community project funding/Congressionally directed spending grants under Federal Emergency Management Agency's Federal Assistance Grant Program. A small portion of this funding is designated for airport-related projects.
Cybersecurity
Cyber Incident Reporting: A separate section (Division Y) of the omnibus appropriations bill includes new cyber incident reporting requirements that the House and Senate have been working on for the past year. The new incident reporting program would require critical infrastructure operators to alert DHS' Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within 72 hours of a hack and within 24 hours of paying ransom. Currently, airport or aircraft operators are required to report cyber incidents involving systems the operator has the responsibility to operate and/or maintain to CISA as soon as practicable, but no later than 24-hours after the incident is identified. This includes incidents for which the airport or aircraft operator has not yet identified the event's root cause or nature (for example, no determination has yet been made as to whether the event is malicious, suspicious, or benign).
