Bill to extend FAA introduced

Bill to extend FAA introduced

Oberstar

   House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar on Tuesday introduced legislation to extend federal aviation operations and programs through July 3.
   The bill, H.R. 5147, anticipates the April 30 expiration of the current extension of the law authorizing the Federal Aviation Administration.
   'We have had to extend this authorization several times, and let's hope that this is the last,' Oberstar said. 'We are making progress on a new authorization bill, but we are not there yet. This extension will give us time to complete the task.'
   The FAA authorization was originally set to expire Sept. 30, 2007, but has been kept in force through a series of extensions. The House and Senate have each passed new authorization bills, and are now working to craft a compromise.

Davis

   This latest extension bill is expected to come before the full House either Wednesday or Thursday, with Senate action to follow shortly.
   A major difference between the versions is a House bill proviso that could make it easier for unions to organize workers at FedEx.
   FedEx is regulated by the Railway Labor Act, which requires unions to organize at the national level. Its competitor, UPS, is organized by the Teamsters and subject to the National Labor Relations Act, which allows local organizing by unions.
   Scott Davis, chief executive officer of UPS, said in a conference call with security analysts on Tuesday that he supports passage of a FAA reauthorization bill as quickly as possible, but said since both UPS and FedEx offer similar services to similar customers it was illogical that they are governed by different labor laws.