Conferees reach final agreement on FAA spending bill
House and Senate conferees have reached a final agreement on a transportation appropriations bill that includes aviation funding for fiscal year 2001, which runs from October 1, 2000, to September 30, 2001. The agreement will provide some $12 billion for the FAA, a $2 billion increase.
The agreement provides more funds for the FAA's Facilities and Equipment (F&E) budget (for modernizing air traffic control and FSS equipment) and the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), as required in the AIR-21 legislation passed earlier this year. Furthermore, the agreement provides for a dramatic increase in the FAA's Operations budget.
Despite early reports that the Transportation Appropriations bill would be "piggy-backed" with other legislation, it now appears that the bill will move to the floor of the House and Senate for final approval as a stand-alone bill. The bill will then be sent to the president for his signature. President Clinton has indicated that he will sign the legislation into law.
According to AOPA's sources, the FAA budget for next year will include:
- Airport Operations, $6.5 billion ($644 million increase over last year)
- F&E, $2.656 billion ($582 million increase)
- AIP, $3.2 billion ($1.3 billion over fiscal year 2000 funding)
00-4-033x
October 3, 2000
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