Congress passes long-awaited FAA reauthorization bill, sends to Biden for signature

16.05.2024 - 14:29 / thepointsguy.com / Joe Biden / Maria Cantwell / Michael Whitaker

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Federal Aviation Authority reauthorization bill on Wednesday and sent the bill to President Joe Biden's desk following last week's bipartisan passage in the Senate.

The bill renews the FAA's funding for five years and includes a range of safety measures, consumer protections and measures to fix the nation's chronic shortage of air traffic controllers. It grants more than $105 billion to the agency through fiscal year 2028.

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"This bill delivers big wins to Americans," Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. and chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said in a statement. "We're going to make sure every tower has more air traffic controllers and our pilots are going to get better training."

Along with funding the FAA's various regulatory and safety-related functions, the bill cements new consumer protections surrounding the right for families with small children to be seated together without paying a fee. It also mandates refunds for delayed and canceled flights, which were initially introduced as a rule by the U.S. Department of Transportation last month.

The new codified standards, which take effect this fall, require airlines to automatically refund passengers to their original form of payment if their flight is canceled or significantly delayed.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was among several lawmakers who jointly filed a late amendment to the bill to include the refund requirements. Warren told TPG on Tuesday that the senators saw the overwhelmingly positive public response to the announcement of the DOT rules and took an opportunity to cement them in the legislation. Warren's comments came at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) ahead of a flight to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

A long-term reauthorization was widely expected to pass. However, it has been subject to more than a year of back-and-forth debate over various provisions and amounts, Much of this debate occurred while the FAA was without a permanent director. Biden nominated Michael Whitaker to the role in September, and he was confirmed by the Senate a month later.

"I am grateful to Congress for passing this long-term bipartisan legislation, which allows for more runway safety technology, more air traffic controllers, and stronger oversight of aircraft production," Whitaker said in a statement to TPG. "It gives us the stability to ensure we carry out our mission to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world, even as we facilitate the aviation system of the future."

The funding comes as the FAA steps up its regulatory responsibilities amid a safety crisis at U.S. plane-maker