FAA break-up bill clears U.S. House committee

The Juneau International Airport
A bill making changes to the FAA is on its way to the U.S. House floor. Rep. Don Young said it could affect airports and small-plane operators. (Photo by Heather Bryant/KTOO)

A bill to break up the FAA and privatize the nation’s air traffic controllers cleared the Transportation Committee in the U.S. House Thursday night.

Alaska Congressman Don Young said he made changes to the bill to make it more palatable in Alaska, where dozens of small airports benefit from a government subsidy called Essential Air Service.

“It was a bad bill when it started,” Young said after the committee amended and passed the measure. “It’s still not a good bill, but it’s a bill I’ve been able to amend, actually, (to make) mandatory funding for Essential Air Service … . That’s very important for all the villages.”

Critics said the bill is a shift toward fee-for-service, which they said will make the airways less safe, particularly for pilots of small planes. The bill would exempt some general aviation pilots from new fees, but the Alaska Airmen Association said they fear the exemption won’t last.

Young said he also added exemptions for air taxis and charters, known in FAA regs as “part 135 operators.”

“And we’ll be able to take and make this bill much better by the time it gets to the floor. I have the assurance from the chairman that this will occur,” Young said, referring to Transportation Chairman Bud Shuster, R-Penn., the main sponsor of the bill.

Young also said the bill, as passed in committee, would prevent the sale or dismantling of FAA safety assets and navigational aids in Alaska. The committee passed the bill 32-26. No word yet on when the full House will take it up.

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