In case you all did not see this, Congress is heading into their August recess without having passed any kind of FAA reauthorization bill, not even another temporary extension. This leaves 4,000 FAA employees out on furlough at least until September 5, when Congress is scheduled to return. Furloughed employees include the Resident Engineer assigned to our runway project (mainly dealing with the Rwy 15 MALSR and Rwy 33 REILs) as well as many of the FAA engineering staff, most of the Airports Division staff (Mike Nicely, Steven Cooks, and the rest of that group), and the airspace specialists (Bruce Beard). In the meantime, no new AIP grants will be issued, which will very likely delay our grant for access controls. If Congress does not pass an FAA reauthorization bill fairly quickly upon their return to Washington in September, it could very well delay FAA giving TX-DOT their FY12 block grant, which could delay our Taxiway Alpha project. Joel Jenkinson Director, Addison Airport main: (972) 392-4850 fax: (972) 788-9334 Runway Safety: Make it YOUR Priority! ________________________________ From: Gwen Papineau Basaria [mailto:gwen.papineau@aaae.org] Sent: Monday, August 01, 2011 6:36 PM To: joel.jenkinson@addisonairport.net Subject: Airport Alert: FAA Extension Stalls Again gradient-sky FAA Extension Stalls Again August 1, 2011 The Senate rejected another effort to pass a short-term FAA extension this evening. Since the House of Representatives is expected to adjourn later today for its annual August recess, today's defeat in the Senate means that the partial shutdown of the FAA and the aviation excise tax holiday will likely continue for at least another six weeks. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller, IV (D-WV) tried unsuccessfully to get unanimous consent to pass a modified version of H.R. 2553, the short-term FAA extension that the House approved late last month. (Rockefeller and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) introduced a short-term FAA extension with EAS reforms earlier today.) However, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) objected. Hatch then tried to get unanimous consent to pass H.R. 2553 as passed by the House. The House-passed bill would extend aviation programs and excise taxes through September 16. However, it would eliminate EAS to about a dozen communities. Hatch also proposed to add another controversial provision that would make it more difficult for aviation and railroad workers to organize. Democrats strongly oppose the EAS provisions and the proposal to change National Mediation Board election procedures. (The NMB proposal, which is in the House-passed FAA bill, is one of the key issues holding up passage of a multi-year bill.) Not surprisingly, Rockefeller objected to Hatch's unanimous consent request. This is the third time in just over a week that Senate Democrats tried to get unanimous consent to move forward with an FAA extension and the third time that Hatch objected. The House and Senate are scheduled to be in recess through September 5th. Unless some unexpected Congressional action occurs before lawmakers adjourn, the FAA will not be able to issue AIP grants for at least another six weeks and 4,000 FAA workers will continue to be furloughed. For more information, please contact Brad Van Dam at 703-797-2534. NOTE: If you choose to unsubscribe from this AAAE email communication, you will no longer receive any policy department communications, including Airport Alerts, Hearing Reports, Security Alerts, Regulatory Alerts, etc. This action cannot be undone. Follow us on Twitter Find us on Facebook This email was sent to joel.jenkinson@addisonairport.net by gwen.papineau@aaae.org | Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe ™ | Privacy Policy . AAAE | 601 Madison Street, Suite 400 | Alexandria | VA | 22314 ________________________________ This e-mail and any attachments contain URS Corporation confidential information that may be proprietary or privileged. If you receive this message in error or are not the intended recipient, you should not retain, distribute, disclose or use any of this information and you should destroy the e-mail and any attachments or copies.