[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 203 (Monday, December 11, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H6756-H6759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           AIRPORT AND AIRWAY EXTENSION ACT OF 2023, PART II

  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 6503) to amend title 49, United States Code, to 
extend authorizations for the airport improvement program, to amend the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure 
authority of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6503

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Airport 
     and Airway Extension Act of 2023, Part II''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

                   TITLE I--FEDERAL AVIATION PROGRAMS

Sec. 101. Airport improvement program.
Sec. 102. Extension of expiring authorities; miscellaneous 
              authorizations.
Sec. 103. Federal Aviation Administration operations.
Sec. 104. Air navigation facilities and equipment.
Sec. 105. Research, engineering, and development.
Sec. 106. Small community air service.

                 TITLE II--AVIATION REVENUE PROVISIONS

Sec. 201. Expenditure authority from Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
Sec. 202. Extension of taxes funding Airport and Airway Trust Fund.

                   TITLE I--FEDERAL AVIATION PROGRAMS

     SEC. 101. AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

       (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 48103(a) of 
     title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 
     paragraph (7) and inserting the following:
       ``(7) $1,464,480,874 for the period beginning October 1, 
     2023, and ending on March 8, 2024.''.
       (b) Obligation Authority.--Subject to limitations specified 
     in advance in appropriation Acts, sums made available 
     pursuant to the amendment made by subsection (a) may be 
     obligated at any time through September 30, 2024, and shall 
     remain available until expended.
       (c) 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 period beginning on October 1, 2023, and 
     ending on March 8, 2024, the Administrator of the Federal 
     Aviation Administration shall--
       (1) first calculate such funding apportionments on an 
     annualized basis as if the total amount available under 
     section 48103 of such title for fiscal year 2024 was 
     $3,350,000,000; and
       (2) then reduce by 56 percent--
       (A) all funding apportionment amounts calculated under 
     paragraph (1); and
       (B) amounts made available pursuant to subsections (b) and 
     (f)(2) of section 47117 of such title.
       (d) Extension of Project Grant Authority.--Section 47104(c) 
     of title 49, United States Code, is amended in the matter 
     preceding paragraph (1) by striking ``December 31, 2023,'' 
     and inserting ``March 8, 2024,''.
       (e) Extension of Special Rule for Apportionments.--Section 
     47114(c)(1)(J) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``December 31, 2023,'' and inserting ``March 8, 
     2024,''.

     SEC. 102. EXTENSION OF EXPIRING AUTHORITIES; MISCELLANEOUS 
                   AUTHORIZATIONS.

       (a) Authority To Provide Insurance.--Section 44310(b) of 
     title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 
     ``December 31, 2023'' and inserting ``March 8, 2024''.
       (b) Unmanned Aircraft Test Ranges.--Section 44803(h) of 
     title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 
     ``December 31, 2023'' and inserting ``March 8, 2024''.
       (c) Special Authority for Certain Unmanned Aircraft 
     Systems.--Section 44807(d) of title 49, United States Code, 
     is amended by striking ``December 31, 2023'' and inserting 
     ``March 8, 2024''.
       (d) Extension of Airport Safety and Airspace Hazard 
     Mitigation and Enforcement.--Section 44810(h) of title 49, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``December 31, 
     2023'' and inserting ``March 8, 2024''.
       (e) Competitive Access Reporting Requirement.--Section 
     47107(r)(3) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``January 1, 2024'' and inserting ``March 9, 2024''.
       (f) Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau.--Section 
     47115(i) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``December 31, 2023'' and inserting ``March 8, 
     2024''.
       (g) Supplemental Discretionary Funds.--Section 
     47115(j)(4)(A) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking clause (vi) and adding at the end the following:
       ``(vi) $244,177,049 for the period beginning on October 1, 
     2023, and ending on March 8, 2024.''.
       (h) Compatible Land Use Planning and Projects by State and 
     Local Governments.--Section 47141(f) of title 49, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``December 31, 2023'' and 
     inserting ``March 8, 2024''.
       (i) Non-Movement Area Surveillance Pilot Program.--Section 
     47143(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``January 1, 2024'' and inserting ``March 9, 2024''.
       (j) Weather Reporting Programs.--Section 48105 of title 49, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (5) and 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) $17,049,180 for the period beginning on October 1, 
     2023, and ending on March 8, 2024.''.
       (k) Learning Period.--Section 50905(c)(9) of title 51, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``January 1, 
     2024'' and inserting ``March 9, 2024''.
       (l) Midway Island Airport.--Section 186(d) of the Vision 
     100--Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (Public Law 108-
     176; 117 Stat. 2518) is amended by striking ``December 31, 
     2023,'' and inserting ``March 8, 2024,''.
       (m) Final Order Establishing Mileage and Adjustment 
     Eligibility.--Section 409(d) of the Vision 100--Century of 
     Aviation Reauthorization Act (49 U.S.C. 41731 note) is 
     amended by striking ``December 31, 2023'' and inserting 
     ``March 8, 2024''.
       (n) Contract Weather Observers.--Section 2306(b) of the FAA 
     Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-
     190; 130 Stat. 641) is amended by striking ``January 1, 
     2024'' and inserting ``March 9, 2024''.
       (o) Remote Tower Pilot Program.--Section 161(a)(10) of the 
     FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (49 U.S.C. 47104 note) is 
     amended by striking ``December 31, 2023'' and inserting 
     ``March 8, 2024''.
       (p) Airport Access Roads in Remote Locations; Storage 
     Facilities for Snow Removal Equipment.--Section 162 of the 
     FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (49 U.S.C. 47102 note) is 
     amended by striking ``December 31, 2023'' and inserting 
     ``March 8, 2024''.
       (q) UAS Remote Detection and Identification Pilot 
     Program.--Section 372(d) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 
     2018 (49 U.S.C. 44810 note) is amended by striking ``December 
     31, 2023'' and inserting ``March 8, 2024''.
       (r) Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection.--
     Section 411(h) of the

[[Page H6757]]

     FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 42301 
     note) is amended by striking ``December 31, 2023'' and 
     inserting ``March 8, 2024''.
       (s) Aviation Consumer Advocate.--Section 424(e) of the FAA 
     Reauthorization Act of 2018 (49 U.S.C. 42302 note) is amended 
     by striking ``December 31, 2023'' and inserting ``March 8, 
     2024''.
       (t) Advisory Committee on Air Travel Needs of Passengers 
     With Disabilities.--Section 439(g) of the FAA Reauthorization 
     Act of 2018 (49 U.S.C. 41705 note) is amended by striking 
     ``December 31, 2023'' and inserting ``March 8, 2024''.
       (u) Enhanced Traffic Services.--Section 547(e) of the FAA 
     Reauthorization Act of 2018 (49 U.S.C. 40103 note) is amended 
     by striking ``December 31, 2023'' and inserting ``March 8, 
     2024''.
       (v) Pilot Program for Redevelopment of Airport 
     Properties.--Section 822(k) of the FAA Modernization and 
     Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 47141 note) is amended by 
     striking ``December 31, 2023'' and inserting ``March 8, 
     2024''.

     SEC. 103. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION OPERATIONS.

       Section 106(k) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1) by striking subparagraph (G) and 
     inserting after subparagraph (F) the following:
       ``(G) $5,208,743,169 for the period beginning on October 1, 
     2023, and ending on March 8, 2024.''; and
       (2) in paragraph (3) by striking ``December 31, 2023'' and 
     inserting ``March 8, 2024''.

     SEC. 104. AIR NAVIGATION FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT.

       Section 48101(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking paragraph (7) and adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(7) $1,287,431,694 for the period beginning on October 1, 
     2023, and ending on March 8, 2024.''.

     SEC. 105. RESEARCH, ENGINEERING, AND DEVELOPMENT.

       Section 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking paragraph (16) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(16) $111,475,410 for the period beginning on October 1, 
     2023, and ending on March 8, 2024.''.

     SEC. 106. SMALL COMMUNITY AIR SERVICE.

       (a) Essential Air Service Authorization.--Section 
     41742(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``$89,191,486 for the period beginning on October 1, 
     2023, and ending on December 31, 2023,'' and inserting 
     ``$155,115,628 for the period beginning on October 1, 2023, 
     and ending on March 8, 2024,''.
       (b) Airports Not Receiving Sufficient Service.--Section 
     41743(e)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``$2,513,661 for the period beginning on October 1, 
     2023, and ending on December 31, 2023,'' and inserting 
     ``$4,371,585 for the period beginning on October 1, 2023, and 
     ending on March 8, 2024,''.

                 TITLE II--AVIATION REVENUE PROVISIONS

     SEC. 201. EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY FROM AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST 
                   FUND.

       (a) In General.--Section 9502(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 is amended--
       (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) by striking 
     ``January 1, 2024'' and inserting ``March 9, 2024''; and
       (2) in subparagraph (A) by striking the semicolon at the 
     end and inserting ``or the Airport and Airway Extension Act 
     of 2023, Part II;''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 9502(e)(2) of such Code 
     is amended by striking ``January 1, 2024'' and inserting 
     ``March 9, 2024''.

     SEC. 202. EXTENSION OF TAXES FUNDING AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST 
                   FUND.

       (a) Fuel Taxes.--Section 4081(d)(2)(B) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``December 31, 
     2023'' and inserting ``March 8, 2024''.
       (b) Ticket Taxes.--
       (1) Persons.--Section 4261(k)(1)(A)(ii) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``December 31, 
     2023'' and inserting ``March 8, 2024''.
       (2) Property.--Section 4271(d)(1)(A)(ii) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``December 31, 
     2023'' and inserting ``March 8, 2024''.
       (c) Fractional Ownership Programs.--
       (1) Fuel tax.--Section 4043(d) of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 is amended by striking ``December 31, 2023'' and 
     inserting ``March 8, 2024''.
       (2) Treatment as noncommercial aviation.--Section 4083(b) 
     of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 
     ``January 1, 2024'' and inserting ``March 9, 2024''.
       (3) Exemption from ticket tax.--Section 4261(j) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 
     ``December 31, 2023'' and inserting ``March 8, 2024''.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Graves) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record on H.R. 6503.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  H.R. 6503 extends the statutory authorities of the Federal Aviation 
Administration through March 8, 2024. This bill also authorizes the 
continued collection of aviation excise taxes, which are user fees that 
are critical to ensuring the safe operation of our air traffic control 
system and for capital infrastructure projects at airports all over the 
country.
  This subsequent extension is necessary because the Senate has yet to 
finalize their FAA reauthorization bill. The House did its part to 
provide for a long-term reauthorization when we passed H.R. 3935 in an 
overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion on July 20 with more than 350 votes.
  I commend my House colleagues for their commitment to reauthorizing 
the FAA on time and ahead of schedule. I remain committed to enacting a 
long-term comprehensive FAA bill as soon as possible, and I know that 
that goal is shared by our counterparts in the Senate. In the meantime, 
however, we have to keep the lights on at the FAA to ensure continued 
safe operation of the national airspace system.
  Failure to enact this legislation would result in a loss of revenue 
totaling $50 million per day from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. In 
other words, not passing this bill would directly and immediately 
increase our national debt by more than $50 million a day and leave our 
aviation system less safe.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this bill so that we 
can maintain safety in the national airspace system in the absence of a 
long-term reauthorization. I urge support of this legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I am standing in lieu of the ranking member 
Mr. Larsen, who can't be here, and he asked me to do this as I am the 
ranking member on the Subcommittee on Aviation, which this bill came 
out of.
  I was here earlier today on a veterans' bill, and I mentioned that 
people sometimes don't think we work together, but military and 
veterans' issues are a place where Democrats and Republicans come 
together. We also come together on transportation issues generally, and 
this time we most assuredly did. There was an overwhelmingly large 
majority passing this bill on the floor, and it was because of the work 
of Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, and the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Graves).
  This is a good bill. It protects the flying public. It takes care of 
consumers who have been left in the breach either on the tarmac or left 
for hours with the plane not leaving or getting in late, giving them 
the right to get refunds, compensation, water, all those other things 
they would like to have. It takes care of trying to see that our air 
traffic controllers have a larger group of people to choose from, 
opening it up to minorities who have not really been encouraged and/or 
permitted so much into the air traffic control system.
  We need more and more air traffic controllers, so this bill 
encourages more people to get involved in that because when we have a 
lack of air traffic controllers, we have got potential safety problems. 
We have had 9, 10, or 11--I don't know exactly how many--near-
collisions because the air traffic controllers had too much work, some 
of them were doing other things, and they just don't have enough folks. 
For safety, we need to get this passed, as well as for consumers.
  There are many other improvements detailed in the bill, but I am not 
going to go through these eight wonderful pages that my staffer has 
drawn up for me to read. I will just say it is a good bill. The Senate 
should get their work done and join with us in improving the public's 
safety in the air and their rights as consumers. The bill includes 
improvements in airport construction and also gives people with 
disabilities many more opportunities, too.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage everybody to vote ``aye'' and pass this 
bill. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the words of the 
gentleman from Tennessee.

[[Page H6758]]

  I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins), a 
member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
  Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, merry Christmas. I thank Chairman Graves 
for yielding and for his leadership this year as we have worked to 
address many challenging issues that are facing our aviation industry.
  Hopefully, soon we will be celebrating enactment of the FAA 
reauthorization bill that was shepherded through the House in July 
rather than debating additional short-term extensions. However, Mr. 
Speaker, here we are, and I rise in support of the Airport and Airway 
Extension Act.
  This legislation will continue the current authorization of the 
Airport Improvement Program, Essential Air Service, and other key 
programs through March while we wait for the Senate to act on H.R. 
3935.
  As we know, our Nation's airports--including Hartsfield-Jackson, 
which serves my home State of Georgia and, by the way, is the busiest 
in the world--are constantly working to build new infrastructure in 
response to rising demand for passenger and cargo services.
  They depend on AIP to keep those projects rolling and people and 
goods flying. That is why I support the Airport and Airway Extension 
Act, but I also call on the Senate to act quickly on our long-term FAA 
reauthorization bill, which will modernize FAA operations, grow the 
aviation workforce, strengthen the general aviation sector, improve the 
passenger experience, and so much more.

  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in the House to support the bill 
before us today and look forward to continuing our work to keep 
America's skies the safest and most efficient in the world.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, in response to the gentleman from Georgia 
(Mr. Collins), my friend, who wished us all merry Christmas, I wish him 
merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah.
  Today is the Hanukkah party at the White House, and the Speaker has 
yet to limit votes so that the Members who attend can attend and not 
miss votes. We had votes moved on Christmas, and they should be moved 
on Hanukkah, too. I know the Speaker is very concerned about the Bible, 
and in the Bible, Moses said, let my people go. Mr. Speaker, I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves), the chairman of the Aviation 
Subcommittee.
  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, this body is often fighting 
over things. We are at one of the most polarized points in our Nation 
that I have ever experienced, but in this case, this is an instance 
where Republicans and Democrats are coming together. I thank my good 
friend,   Steve Cohen, not just for this bill but also for the 5-year 
authorization that we passed out of this Chamber back in July. I also 
thank Rick Larsen, the ranking member of the full committee; and, of 
course, Sam Graves, the full committee chairman, a good friend, and 
probably the best expert on aviation in the entire House of 
Representatives, for their work on aviation this year.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. Speaker, I often hear people quote John Dingell, who said that 
the other party is the opposition, but the Senate is the enemy. In this 
case, I think that is exactly what we are experiencing.
  Right now, we are in a situation where the House of Representatives, 
in this very polarized environment, passed a bipartisan FAA bill that 
we worked on for over 18 months.
  The aviation team did an amazing job going through and distilling 
over 2,000 requests from Members of Congress and stakeholders and 
generating a bill, while not a metric of success, over 900 pages, 
ultimately passing the House Transportation Committee unanimously and 
passing the House of Representatives by a vote of 351 to only 69 people 
who didn't understand the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, that shows huge momentum. We were able to work through 
complicated issues, as you heard others say, things like improving the 
passenger experience and making regulatory decisions for the FAA to 
ensure that we continue to play the leadership role in aviation 
innovation; to ensure that we have regulatory certainty and that we are 
not sending innovators and entrepreneurs to other countries to make 
investments because we don't have regulations, stability, or 
predictability in the aviation sector where new entrants are coming in 
at a remarkable rate; to ensure that we move the ball forward and 
properly strike that balance, as I know the full committee chair is so 
concerned about, between general aviation and commercial aviation; and 
to ensure that commercial space travel is properly regulated and has 
the certainty that they need.
  Mr. Speaker, we reorganized the FAA. We improved the training of air 
traffic controllers. We improved addressing the major cliff that we are 
going over on pilots, A&P mechanics, and others involved in the 
aviation space who are so critical to this country.
  Rather than sending a bill to the President's desk to do a long-term 
reauthorization of the FAA for 5 years, which addresses most of the 
problems in the FAA, we find ourselves now doing a 3-month extension 
until March 8 because the Senate has been unable to get their job done.
  Just 2 weeks ago, we had a hearing in the Aviation Subcommittee where 
we went through and explored these issues. We looked at this.
  The FAA now finally has an Administrator. I am fully supportive of 
the Administrator of the FAA, Administrator Whitaker, for being in 
there, but we have to have long-term certainty.
  While I am voting for this bill and support it, it does not address 
the problems in the aviation space. They will not be addressed until 
the Senate takes up the bill and, ultimately, goes to conference with 
the House to where we are working on a conference report and sending a 
long-term authorization to the President.
  Once again, Mr. Speaker, I thank the other members of the Big Four: 
Mr. Cohen, Mr. Larsen, and Mr. Sam Graves. I thank everybody for 
working on this. I thank the aviation team on both sides.
  I support this legislation, and I urge its adoption, but we cannot 
take the pressure off of the United States Senate to ultimately do 
their job and pass a long-term FAA reauthorization.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I will yield back the balance of my time and 
not ask Mr. Graves who won the Heisman Trophy because he knows well--
the LSU quarterback.
  New and persistent challenges facing the U.S. aviation system make 
clear that the status quo is unsustainable. We must extend the FAA's 
current authorization and recommit to passing a long-term, 
comprehensive reauthorization to avoid repeating this scenario. I 
support H.R. 6503 fully, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  Again, I urge all Members to support this must-pass bill so we can 
keep our aviation system operating safely. Failing to pass an extension 
would cost the Federal Government more than $50 million a day in those 
lost revenues.
  What is more, the FAA would be prohibited from making new obligations 
from the aviation trust fund to fund FAA's important safety, 
operational, and research functions.
  To be clear, and I want to be clear to my colleagues, this bill 
provides a clean extension of FAA authorities. This bill does not 
include any policy riders at all.
  Again, I know there is an appetite across the Capitol to enact a 
long-term and comprehensive FAA bill, and that continues to be my 
priority. I urge the Senate to act soon on its FAA bill so that 
Congress can deliver certainty to the aviation industry and the FAA.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the bill, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6503.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.

[[Page H6759]]

  

  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________