Showing a further divide on Capitol Hill over whether to create an independent air traffic control organization, Senate appropriators stated they are against any proposal exempting ATC from the federal budget proposal. In the Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2016 transportation appropriations bill, Senate Appropriations Committee members said they disagree with arguments “that the public is served by exempting any part of the FAA from annual congressional oversight” and added they “would therefore oppose legislation to put the FAA or parts of the FAA on funding autopilot.” The committee yesterday approved the bill by a 20-10 vote.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) is pushing for creation of an independent ATC corporation that would be funded by user fees and separated from the annual budget process. Shuster and other independent ATC supporters argue that such an organization would have funding certainty for long-range NextGen projects, shielded from potential sequestration cuts and budget lapses. 

But Senate appropriators argue that the appropriations process provides oversight and accountability and ensures that the “FAA maintains a system that works across the aviation industry, including general aviation, small and rural communities, as well as commercial airlines and large metropolitan cities.” Limiting congressional oversight could reduce small community service, restrict public input and increase consumer costs, the committee said. The House Appropriations Committee expressed similar reservations, agreeing that, “congressional oversight of agency resources is necessary.” But the House panel stopped short of saying outright that it would reject the concept.