[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4666]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        FAA REAUTHORIZATION BILL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, under a new majority the Senate is 
getting back to work, and progress is being made on behalf of the 
American people. We saw another example of that yesterday when we 
passed the most pro-passenger, pro-security FAA reauthorization in 
years.
  It is the product of dedicated work from Senator Thune, Senator 
Ayotte, and their ranking member counterparts, Senators Nelson and 
Cantwell. These Senators ensured that Republicans and Democrats both 
had a say on this bill, and we ultimately arrived at balanced 
legislation that passed by a very strong bipartisan majority.
  It takes important strides to bolster national security against the 
threat of terrorism, it contains provisions to help frustrated 
passengers, and it won't levy a nickel in new taxes or fees on 
passengers or impose the kind of overregulation that can take away 
their choice or threaten service.
  As the Washington Post reminded us, this is ``the second major 
transportation bill approved by the Senate within five months.''
  So whether it is providing long-term solutions for highway funding, 
permanent tax relief for families and small businesses, or commonsense 
reforms for airline passengers and airport security, this much is 
clear: The Republican-led Senate is working to address issues that 
affect our constituents on a daily basis.

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