When President Joe Biden signed into law the sweeping five-year reauthorization package FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reauthorization package into law on May 16, it’s fair to say it was a big relief to many across the U.S. aviation industry because these things rarely go smoothly. It put in motion a 1,000-page bill that incorporates more than 1,200 measures and directives, including many that affect the business and general aviation community.
While years in the making, the completion of the bill came less than a year after the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed it unanimously and just three months after the Senate Commerce Committee voted out its version.&nbsp;
And while it did take four short-term extensions of the FAA’s operating authority before the House and Senate concluded work on it, that was relatively short and painless compared with the process in recent decades, which was often contentious—pitting one group aviation stakeholder against another—and required dozens of extensions.
What seemed special about this bill was a determination to keep it bipartisan, which meant numerous compromises on the front end.
AIN monthly magazine editor Kerry Lynch spoke with the committee’s Republican chairman Sam Graves about what it took to get the bill passed and why it matters so much to the industry.
As AIN’s senior editor based in Washington, DC, Kerry has followed the sometimes tortuous path to reauthorizations for many years and so she is well placed to get to the bottom of how this breakthrough happened. 
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News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

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News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

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News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

New developments and products in avionics, specifically about aircraft electronics in the cockpit.

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News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

Issues regarding financing of aircraft; aviation insurance; tax issues for aircraft operators; new companies and people in the aviation financing and insurance industries.

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