The National Business Aviation Association has welcomed the introduction of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (H.R. 4), House legislation authorizing funding and programs for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through 2023.

“We welcome this bipartisan legislation,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “The fact that it’s a bipartisan bill increases its changes for passage, and the fact that it’s a long-term bill should give us an opportunity to focus all our efforts on maintaining, and even accelerating, our continuing work to make the Next Generation aviation system a reality.”

Significantly, the legislation does not call for spinning off the air traffic control (ATC) system from the FAA - a concept long opposed by NBAA and a broad coalition of consumer groups, think tanks on the political left and right, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, mayors from across the country, business leaders and others.

The new FAA bill is sponsored by Rep. Bill Shuster (R-9-PA), the chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, along with the panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-4-OR) and the leaders of all six of the Transportation Committee’s subcommittees.

“NBAA looks forward to working with House and Senate transportation leaders on both sides of Capitol Hill to help pass a bipartisan, long-term FAA reauthorization package that modernizes and improves the ATC system,” Bolen said.