Press Releases

In case you missed it, CQ previewed next week’s House floor action on H.R. 4, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the programs of the Federal Aviation Administration for the next five years, provide long-term stability for the Nation’s aviation community, continue investment in U.S. airports, and make necessary reforms to improve American competitiveness and safety in aviation.

In addition to reauthorizing federal aviation programs, the bill includes the Disaster Recovery Reform Act DRRA), another bipartisan bill that passed the House with broad support in December, but was not taken up by the Senate.  The DRRA provisions of H.R. 4 will reform Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) programs to help communities better prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against disasters of all kinds.  Increasing the federal emphasis on predisaster planning and mitigation – building smarter and building better – will reduce the potential for future loss of life and help reduce the rising costs of disasters.

More information about the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.R. 4) is available here.

More information about the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (as included in H.R. 4), is available here.

A few excerpts from the article are below.  To read the full article, click here.

CQ NEWS
FAA Authorization Headed for House Floor Vote Next Week
April 19, 2018 – 5:00 a.m. By Jacob Fischler, CQ

…
In a statement Wednesday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster said the House would vote on an aviation bill (HR 4) that would reauthorize the FAA through fiscal 2023 as well as include provisions of a bill previously passed by the House (HR 4460) that makes changes to Federal Emergency Management Administration policy.…

Disaster Bill
“Americans are standing together to support affected communities as they rebuild so they come back stronger from these disasters and are better prepared for the future,” he said. “Next week the House will support those efforts as part of FAA reauthorization and give FEMA the tools and oversight needed to strengthen their response to disasters.”…

The bill focuses on provisions meant to improve pre-disaster planning and mitigating disasters when they do happen. It would add resiliency to the allowable uses of FEMA hazard mitigation funding and would allow grants for infrastructure and economic development to be used for disaster mitigation. It also would expands the list of authorized activities that count as hazard mitigation.…

FAA
Other than removing the air traffic control spinoff, the aviation bill remains largely unchanged from last year’s version, and it has broad support in its current form, though members are expected to introduce dozens of amendments. The House Rules Committee will decide what amendments to make in order on the bill next week.…