Statement of Administration Policy: S. 1994 - Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996

(Senate)
(Pressler (R) South Dakota)

The Administration strongly supports Senate passage of S. 1994. Without the timely enactment of authorizing legislation, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) authority to fund many important airport projects involving capacity, safety, and security will end on October 1st.

S. 1994 authorizes funding for critical FAA safety, security, air traffic modernization, research, and airport improvement activities. It also provides a structure and time frame for developing meaningful, long-term reform of financing for the FAA and the Airport and Airways system while providing incentives to users to promote cost effective use of air traffic control services. The lapse of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund taxes this year underscores the need to find a long-term, new funding solution for the FAA.

The Administration will seek an amendment to delete the provision which would permit specified congressional committees to disapprove inter-account transfers of budget authority. This provision raises constitutional concerns (see, e.g., INS v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919 (1983)).

The Administration will also seek an amendment to delete the proposed assignment of responsibility to the FAA to establish aircraft engine emission standards. Assigning this responsibility to the FAA would duplicate the Environmental Protection Agency's authority under the Clean Air Act and require the diversion of substantial resources from FAA's primary aviation security and safety responsibilities.

The Administration understands that an amendment will be offered to exempt military aircraft from the overflight user fee proposed in S. 1994. The Administration does not object to that amendment.

Pay-As-You-Go Scoring

S. 1994 would affect offsetting receipts and direct spending. Therefore, it is subject to the pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirement of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1990. OMB's preliminary scoring estimates of this bill are presented in the table below. Final scoring of this legislation may differ from these estimates.