House Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Bill Hits New Snags: Virtually no chance for broad measure to pass before current authorities expire at end of March

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, seen here June 2, for the first time Thursday issued a statement saying he expects Congress will take up a short-term FAA reauthorization bill while longer-term issues continue to be debated

The Wall Street Journal 
By ANDY PASZTOR
Feb. 25, 2016 9:21 p.m. ET


Proposals to shift control of the U.S. air-traffic system to a private corporation ran into new hurdles Thursday, prompting House Republican proponents to acknowledge they likely will face a drawn-out battle with critics.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently approved a sweeping, multiyear bill reauthorizing Federal Aviation Administration programs, including provisions to transform traffic control functions. The legislation passed largely along party lines.

The measure, which also includes controversial language affecting labor issues in the trucking industry, faces stiff Democratic opposition in the House as well as the Senate. In addition, bipartisan leaders of appropriations committees have come out strongly against the bill.

Senate Republican leaders are still drafting their own FAA legislative package and are sounding out members this week about support for revamping the traffic control network.

That means there is now virtually no chance for a broad bill to pass both chambers before the FAA’s current authorities are due to expire at the end of March.

Against this backdrop, Rep. Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania, the Republican chairman of the House Transportation Committee, for the first time Thursday put out a statement explicitly saying he expects Congress will take up a short-term reauthorization bill—stripped of any major structural changes—while longer-term issues continue to be debated.

The need for such an extension “was not a surprise,” according to the statement, and “details about the short-term measure are still being discussed.”

The Obama administration has avoided taking a stand on the air-traffic proposals, while Delta Air Lines Inc. and other opponents have mounted an extensive public relations campaign against the House bill.

It is still unclear whether the Senate committee with jurisdiction will draft a bill including similar far-reaching proposals.

Mr. Shuster initially projected his bill would reach the House floor before the start of the mid-March break for lawmakers to return to their districts. But the latest indications suggest that won’t happen.

In his statement, Mr. Shuster vowed to keep pushing the House committee bill. “Maintaining the status quo,” he said, won’t “fix the underlying issues” damaging efficiency, capacity and modernization of the country’s air-traffic control network.

Original article can be found here:  http://www.wsj.com