FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 168.
FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act - Title I: Authorizations - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for FY2010 and FY2011 for operations.
(Sec. 102) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Transportation out of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for FY2010-FY2011 for: (1) air navigation facilities and equipment; (2) civil aviation research and development (R&D); and (3) grants for airport planning and development and for noise compatibility planning programs; and (4) administrative expenses for certain airport programs.
(Sec. 103) Directs the FAA Administrator to establish a program to utilize undergraduate and technical colleges, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions in research on subjects of relevance to the FAA.
(Sec. 105) Authorizes additional appropriations from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for the FAA Operations account for other aviation programs.
(Sec. 106) Requires the Airway Capital Investment Plan published by the FAA Administrator to include a list of the Next Generation (NextGen) Air Transportation System projects that do not have as a primary purpose to operate or maintain the current air traffic control system.
Title II: Airport Improvements - (Sec. 201) Revises procedural requirements for imposition of aircraft passenger facility charges (PFCs).
(Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary to establish an alternative PFC collection pilot program at up to six airports which does not involve collection by a domestic or foreign air carrier for the flight segment.
Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on alternative means of collecting PFCs without their being included in the airline ticket price.
(Sec. 203) Revises requirements for written assurances to allow: (1) as an airport improvement program (AIP) project cost the cost of relocating or replacing an airport due to a change in design standards beyond the control of an airport owner or operator; and (2) for reinvestment in specified other kinds of AIP projects, or transfer to another airport, of proceeds, in an AIP project for acquiring land, from disposition of the land proportional to the government's share of the cost of acquiring it.
The summary continues for 162 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on September 29, 2009. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 29, 2009: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 168.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 111th Congress (2009-10), 383 of the 10,778 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.6 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV) introduced it on July 14, 2009, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 2 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 14, 2009, 6315 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 6238 days ago, on September 29, 2009.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 111th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2011 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers