Airport and Airway Extension Act of Part II

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8289, which extends the authorization to FAA and its related authorities for 1 week to give the Senate the time it needs to wrap up its consideration of this bicameral and bipartisan comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill.

This legislation reflects an agreement between the House and Senate. It will protect the safety of the flying public and ensure the future of the U.S. aviation industry.

Think back to last July, Mr. Speaker, when the House passed its version of this bill 351-69, a strong bipartisan bill.

Since then, I am actually pleased with the progress that we have made and that we were able to come to an agreement with our Senate counterparts last Sunday. We have been in close contact with the Senate as they have continued to consider this legislation.

This is, and will be next week, a bipartisan, bicameral product, and Members should not be surprised about what is included in it.

Unfortunately, the Senate is still working through its process and may not be able to send us the bill before the current authorization expires on Friday.

Nonetheless, I want to assure Members that Chairman Graves and I have fought hard for House Member priorities. I am very pleased to report that the vast majority of those priorities remain intact in the final package. Members' voices were heard as we worked hard to address the longstanding issues in our aviation system.

The Senate just needs a little bit more time. I fully expect the Senate to complete consideration and send the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 to the House well before May 17, the time at which this extension expires.

Mr. Speaker, I support the short-term extension, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

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Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, new and persistent challenges facing the U.S. aviation system have made clear the status quo is unsustainable. We have to avoid a lapse in authorities of FAA. This current extension does that for 1 week and gives the Senate the short time it needs to deliberate and vote on the final bill.

Mr. Speaker, I support this extension, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. I yield back the balance of my time.

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