[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 29, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H1992-H1994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AIRPORT AND AIRWAY EXTENSION ACT OF 2011
Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 1079) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the
funding and expenditure authority of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund,
to amend title 49, United States Code, to extend the airport
improvement program, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1079
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Airport and Airway Extension
Act of 2011''.
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF TAXES FUNDING AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST
FUND.
(a) Fuel Taxes.--Subparagraph (B) of section 4081(d)(2) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking
``March 31, 2011'' and inserting ``May 31, 2011''.
(b) Ticket Taxes.--
(1) Persons.--Clause (ii) of section 4261(j)(1)(A) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``March
31, 2011'' and inserting ``May 31, 2011''.
(2) Property.--Clause (ii) of section 4271(d)(1)(A) of such
Code is amended by striking ``March 31, 2011'' and inserting
``May 31, 2011''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall take effect on April 1, 2011.
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND
EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY.
(a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 9502(d) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
(1) by striking ``April 1, 2011'' and inserting ``June 1,
2011''; and
(2) by inserting ``or the Airport and Airway Extension Act
of 2011'' before the semicolon at the end of subparagraph
(A).
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Paragraph (2) of section 9502(e)
of such Code is amended by striking ``April 1, 2011'' and
inserting ``June 1, 2011''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall take effect on April 1, 2011.
SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--Section 48103 of title 49, United States
Code, is amended by striking the 2 paragraphs designated as
paragraph (8) and inserting the following:
``(8) $2,466,666,667 for the 8-month period beginning on
October 1, 2010.''.
(2) Obligation of amounts.--Subject to limitations
specified in advance in appropriation Acts, sums made
available pursuant to the amendment made by paragraph (1) may
be obligated at any time through September 30, 2011, and
shall remain available until expended.
(3) Program implementation.--For purposes of calculating
funding apportionments and meeting other requirements under
sections 47114, 47115, 47116, and 47117 of title 49, United
States Code, for the 8-month period beginning on October 1,
2010, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall--
(A) first calculate funding apportionments on an annualized
basis as if the total amount available under section 48103 of
such title for fiscal year 2011 were $3,700,000,000; and
(B) then reduce by 20 percent--
(i) all funding apportionments calculated under
subparagraph (A); and
(ii) amounts available pursuant to sections 47117(b) and
47117(f)(2) of such title.
(b) Project Grant Authority.--Section 47104(c) of such
title is amended by striking ``March 31, 2011,'' and
inserting ``May 31, 2011,''.
SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF EXPIRING AUTHORITIES.
(a) Section 40117(l)(7) of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``April 1, 2011.'' and inserting ``June
1, 2011.''.
(b) Section 44302(f)(1) of such title is amended--
(1) by striking ``March 31, 2011,'' and inserting ``May 31,
2011,''; and
(2) by striking ``June 30, 2011,'' and inserting ``August
31, 2011,''.
(c) Section 44303(b) of such title is amended by striking
``June 30, 2011,'' and inserting ``August 31, 2011,''.
(d) Section 47107(s)(3) of such title is amended by
striking ``April 1, 2011.'' and inserting ``June 1, 2011.''.
(e) Section 47115(j) of such title is amended by striking
``April 1, 2011,'' and inserting ``June 1, 2011,''.
(f) Section 47141(f) of such title is amended by striking
``March 31, 2011.'' and inserting ``May 31, 2011.''.
(g) Section 49108 of such title is amended by striking
``March 31, 2011,'' and inserting ``May 31, 2011,''.
(h) Section 161 of the Vision 100--Century of Aviation
Reauthorization Act (49 U.S.C. 47109 note) is amended by
striking ``April 1, 2011,'' and inserting ``June 1, 2011,''.
(i) Section 186(d) of such Act (117 Stat. 2518) is amended
by striking ``April 1, 2011,'' and inserting ``June 1,
2011,''.
(j) The amendments made by this section shall take effect
on April 1, 2011.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
Capuano) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.
General Leave
Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5
[[Page H1993]]
legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on H.R. 1079.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Wisconsin?
There was no objection.
Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I would like to include in the Congressional
Record the exchange of letters concerning H.R. 1079 between the
Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure.
Committee on Ways and Means,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, March 22, 2011.
Hon. John Mica,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
2165 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Mica: I am writing concerning H.R. 1079, the
``Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011,'' which is
expected to be scheduled for floor consideration the week of
March 28, 2011.
As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means has
jurisdiction over the Internal Revenue Code. Sections 2 and 3
of this bill amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by
extending the current Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF)
expenditure authority and the associated Federal excise taxes
to May 31, 2011. In order to expedite H.R. 1079 for Floor
consideration, the Committee will forgo action on the bill.
This is being done with the understanding that it does not in
any way prejudice the Committee with respect to the
appointment of conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives
on this or similar legislation. In that regard, I would note
that the Committee on Ways and Means recently favorably
reported H.R. 1034, the ``Airport and Airway Trust Fund
Financing Reauthorization Act of 2011,'' which would provide
a similar, but longer-term reauthorization, through September
30, 2014, of the AATF expenditure authority and associated
excise taxes.
I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming
this understanding with respect to H.R. 1079, and would ask
that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be
included in the Congressional Record during Floor
consideration.
Sincerely,
Dave Camp,
Chairman.
____
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of
Representatives,
Washington, DC, March 23, 2011.
Hon. Dave Camp,
Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, 1102 Longworth House
Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your letter regarding H.R.
1079, the ``Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011.'' The
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure recognizes the
Committee on Ways and Means has a jurisdictional interest in
H.R. 1079, and I appreciate your effort to facilitate
consideration of this bill.
I concur with you that forgoing action on H.R. 1079 does
not in any way prejudice the Committee on Ways and Means with
respect to its jurisdictional prerogatives on this bill or
similar legislation in the future, and I would support your
effort to seek appointment of an appropriate number of
conferees to any House-Senate conference involving this
legislation.
Finally, I appreciate your decision to forgo further
consideration on H.R. 1034, the ``Airport and Airway Trust
Fund Financing Reauthorization Act of 2011,'' which would
provide a longer-term reauthorization of the Airport and
Airway Trust Fund expenditure authority and associated excise
taxes. This bill was sequentially referred to the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure.
I will include our letters on H.R. 1079 in the
Congressional Record during House Floor consideration of the
bill. Again, I appreciate your cooperation regarding this
legislation and I look forward to working with the Committee
on Ways and Means as the bill moves through the legislative
process.
Sincerely,
John L. Mica,
Chairman.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the principal
author of the bill and the chairman of the Transportation Committee,
our colleague from the State of Florida, John Mica.
Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, this is an extension of what
would be known as the ``aviation bill.'' I come before the House asking
for one extension under the leadership of the new majority in Congress.
I also come to the floor to explain the history of how we got here
today with 17 extensions.
In 2001, I had the honor and privilege of being named the chair of
the Aviation Subcommittee. Not knowing what the future would hold, of
course, all of our lives changed on September 11, 2001, and mine did,
too.
In 2003, we passed a 4-year authorization: The Federal Government
must provide authorization and set the policy for the operation of our
Nation's aviation system and for the FAA, which is the primary and lead
agency. The bill that we passed in 2003 sets forth the policy and the
funding for all the projects and everything eligible for Federal
participation. It authorizes all the programs. When we did that again
in 2003, we did a 4-year bill.
In 2007, the bill that I helped author and that we brought before the
Congress--again after the fateful days of 2001, after the tragedy, and
again after the difficulty the aviation industry saw from 2001 to
2003--the bill that expired in 2007, the 4-year bill, was extended some
17 times. That is shameful and irresponsible that we find ourselves in
a situation where we haven't passed policy.
Now, why is this important?
Most of the emphasis in this Congress should be on getting people
back to work. If we have people working, most of our problems are
solved. The States would have revenue, and the Federal Government would
have revenue. Yet it's absolutely amazing, when you have the aviation
industry, which accounts for 9.2 percent of our gross domestic product
and activity in the United States--9.2 percent--that the Federal
Government and Congress did not have in place a long-term policy and
blueprint, which is set forth in that authorization legislation. So 17
times we've come to the floor, and there have been these short-term
extensions of the bill that we passed originally in 2003 and that
expired in 2007. That's the situation we find ourselves in.
Now, several weeks ago, we did pass in the Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee a long-term 4-year bill. The Senate has acted,
the other body, and they've passed a bill. If it had been just our
committee, we probably could have had the bill up a little bit quicker,
but we do rely on several other committees to add input into this
process. We have the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, which
just before we left last week completed their portion of the bill. We
have the Ways and Means Committee, which also has part of the financial
responsibility, the Ways and Means' responsibility, in the legislation
for the extension, and they finished their work.
We do need a little bit more time to come to conference, and I pledge
an open conference. In the past, legislation has been decided behind
closed doors. I hope this to be an open process. This extension will
run us through May 31, I believe, of this year, the end of May, and it
is my hope that the first bill that we can get done will be done with
this one extension for, again, authorizing all of our aviation programs
for the Nation.
So that's the situation we find ourselves in. We need to pass this
legislation because the current 17th extension expires at the end of
this week, and we must have this in place to make certain that we can
even function in any manner, even though we don't have all the details
of new legislation in place, which I pledge to do in the next 60 days.
With that explanation, I would like to thank the chairman of the
Aviation Subcommittee, the gentleman and our leader on aviation issues,
Mr. Petri.
Mr. CAPUANO. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1079, the Airport and Airway
Extension Act of 2011.
As you heard, this is the 18th short-term extension for FAA programs.
With the enactment of a long-term FAA reauthorization in sight, as the
chairman has just mentioned--and we all look forward to that--I want to
echo my colleague's hopes that this will be the last short-term
extension. I know, if we have to have one, we'll probably do one, but
we all hope that it's the last one we do.
Without the enactment of this bill, the FAA's funding, programs, and
expenditure authority would lapse on March 31. This clean and
straightforward extension will keep the FAA operating at current
funding levels for another 2 months, through May 31. It will give
Congress time to work out the long-term reauthorization. Yet I want to
be clear: While I support this short-term extension bill, I have
serious concerns about H.R. 658, the long-term
[[Page H1994]]
FAA reauthorization bill, which I expect the House may try to take up
this week.
In fiscal year 2010, the FAA's major programs were funded at
approximately $16 billion. H.R. 658, the FAA Reauthorization and Reform
Act of 2011, is a 4-year reauthorization that would reduce the FAA's
annual funding to approximately 2008 appropriation levels, $14.9
billion, for the remainder of 2011 and then each year through fiscal
year 2014. H.R. 658 would effectively cut, roughly, $1 billion annually
and almost $4 billion total below current funding levels for FAA's
budget over the next 4 years. These proposed cuts will have dire
consequences on our Nation's infrastructure, jobs, and the economy.
Mr. Speaker, in February, the House Aviation Subcommittee held a
hearing for industry stakeholders to testify about FAA reauthorization.
In response to a question that I posed, witnesses representing the
aerospace industry, general aviation manufacturers, general aviation
pilots, airports, air traffic controllers, and FAA managers all
testified that Congress could not cut $1 billion annually from the
FAA's budget without harming safety-sensitive programs or hampering the
industry. At the same hearing, Ms. Marion Blakey, the FAA administrator
under President George W. Bush, stated: ``The prospect is really
devastating to jobs and to our future.''
Every $1 billion of Federal investment in infrastructure creates or
sustains approximately 35,000 jobs. Yet H.R. 658 would cut the airport
improvement grants for runway construction and safety enhancements by
almost $2 billion. Cuts to airport improvement grants alone would cost
the Nation 70,000 jobs.
{time} 1420
So let's be clear about one thing: The FAA reauthorization bill that
we will consider later this week will not create jobs; it will destroy
them. Although much work is ahead of us, I'm optimistic that Congress
will be able to enact a long-term bill and we will not be considering a
19th short-term extension this summer. For the present, however, this
particular extension, this bill before us today, I support, and I urge
my colleagues to support it.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PETRI. I would just like to observe to my colleague, we will have
plenty of opportunity to defend and debate the overall reauthorization
later this week. The reauthorization bill is broadly supported by the
industry affected. We may differ on some portions of it, but one of the
major features of the reauthorization is to put in place a strengthened
framework and benchmarks for NextGen; and as that new technology is
deployed, almost every expert we've had testifying before the committee
has said it will markedly increase the efficiency and safety of the
aviation industry and reduce fuel use by some 25 percent, helping the
environment and our import situation as well.
In any event, I would like to mention that the current
reauthorization extension, the short-term extension before us, has
bipartisan support. I would urge my colleagues in both parties to
support it.
I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of
my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 1079.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________