CONGRESS APPROVES CONTINUING RESOLUTION ON GOVERNMENT FUNDING, EXTENSION OF FAA REAUTHORIZATION

Recently, Congress approved two pieces of legislation aimed at funding government programs and extending FAA reauthorization in lieu of completing work on authorization and appropriations bills for the FAA. On October 29, Congress approved a continuing resolution (C.R.) aimed at funding government programs at FY 2009 levels through December 18. The C.R. was included in the FY 2010 Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2996), which was signed into law (P.L. 111-88) by the president on October 28. Prior to the current FAA reauthorization expiring at the end of September, both the House and Senate passed an extension (H.R. 3607) of the reauthorization through the end of the year, which was signed into law (P.L. 111-69) on September 30.

"With our men and women in uniform fighting on two fronts and with our economy at a critical stage in its recovery from the worst recession we have faced in several generations, it is inconceivable that we would allow for any disruption of the essential services provided by the federal government," said Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) regarding the continuing resolution.

To date, Congress has only passed five of 12 spending bills including: Agriculture, Energy and Water, Homeland Security, Interior and Environment, and the Legislative Branch. Congress is expected to use the extra time to consider the seven remaining bills separately; however, completing work on the remaining bills will be difficult due to the current emphasis on health care reform.

Regarding FAA reauthorization, with the bill stalled in the Senate Finance Committee, lawmakers had no option but to pass an extension since the current authorization expired at the end of September. The extension authorizes the appropriation of $2.3 billion for FAA operations, $733 million for facilities and equipment (F&E), and $46 million for research, engineering and development (RE&D) for three months beginning October 1. These amounts represent the average of the funding levels for these programs in the FY 2010 Department of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill (H.R. 3288) as passed by the House and the Senate. In addition, H.R. 3607 extends the aviation excise taxes through December 31, 2009.

In pledging support for the extension, Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, called attention to the Senate?s failure to complete work on its version of the bill but stressed the importance of extending the authorization. "Given that the current authority for aviation programs and taxes [expired], another extension is necessary to continue aviation programs until a multi-year reauthorization bill can be completed," he said when introducing the legislation. Oberstar emphasized that the funding provided in the extension would allow the FAA to move forward with critical safety and capacity programs during the first three months of FY 2010.

This week, 35 senators sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urging passage of the FAA reauthorization bill. The letter outlines the critical need for passage of the bill in order to boost job creation and economic recovery through infrastructure investment and allocating necessary funds and congressional direction for the FAA's Next Generation Air Traffic Control system.

PASS continues to work with members of Congress to ensure passage of the FAA reauthorization bill and has recently joined with other aviation industry leaders in a letter to the Senate stressing the importance of passing comprehensive FAA reauthorization legislation. "The strength of our aviation system and the ability to meet future demands is dependent upon the federal government's success in meeting its obligations to provide adequate infrastructure," stated the letter signed by over 30 industry and labor groups. "A critical step in meeting those obligations is for the Senate to advance a comprehensive, multi-year bill that will help provide the resources necessary to help our country meet the demands being placed on the aviation system. The aviation community stands united in its recognition of the importance of enacting multi-year FAA reauthorization legislation."

PRESIDENT SIGNS DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

Includes Key Provisions for Federal Employees

On October 28, President Obama signed the FY 2010 Department of Defense (DoD) authorization bill (P.L. 111-84; H.R. 2647) into law, authorizing appropriations for the DoD and Department of Energy. The new law contains a number of valuable provisions for military and civilian federal employees and retirees. While most provisions are expected to take effect immediately, some provisions will be phased in over time. (see Legislative Update, October 9, 2009)

Most notably, the new law provides employees under the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) a credit for unused sick leave at the time of retirement, a benefit currently enjoyed by members of the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Employees who retire prior to January 1, 2014, will receive 50 percent of their unused sick leave as a credit toward their annuities. FERS employees who retire after that date will receive full credit thus putting them on par with their CSRS counterparts.

Additionally, the new law phases out cost-of-living allowances and instead extends locality pay to federal employees in Alaska, Hawaii and the U.S. territories. The law also allows FERS employees that return to the federal government the ability to redeposit annuities upon their return. Furthermore, the bill allows for the part-time reemployment of annuitants without offset to salary.

The original legislation was introduced in June by Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.). PASS played a central role in crafting the legislation to include employees at the FAA and fought to ensure that the final legislation considered by the House and Senate did not remove or exclude FAA employees. "This is an extremely important victory for all federal employees," said PASS National President Tom Brantley. "PASS made every legislative effort to ensure that all FAA employees had access to this valuable benefit."

With regards to DoD employees, the law also includes a provision that will eliminate the department's National Security Personnel System (NSPS). Starting in April 2010, over 200,000 DoD employees currently under the NSPS pay-for-performance system are expected to revert back to the federal General Schedule (GS) by 2012. The law directs DoD to work with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to implement a new performance-management system at the department.