WASHINGTON, D.C.—House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) released the following statement after the House passed, H.R. 302, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 under suspension of the rules.
“Today, the House passed bipartisan legislation to ensure that our Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is able to operate at its full capacity for the safety, security, and efficiency of American air travelers. For Louisiana, this legislation includes crucial disaster recovery reforms to fix the unfair ‘duplication of benefits’ rules that have plagued 2016 flood victims, and will also allow FEMA to improve its disaster mitigation efforts to help reduce the costly impact of future storms. I’m glad the House passed this strong, bipartisan legislation, and I look forward to President Trump signing it into law.”
Provisions included in this legislation:
- Fixes the duplication of benefits problem so many Louisianans faced after the 2016 floods by ensuring that a loan is not considered a duplication of a grant.
- Reforms FEMA funding by ensuring that a percentage of assistance provided in the wake of disasters is invested in pre-disaster hazard mitigation.
- Modernizes the FAA by making improvements to Federal Contract Tower Program and seeks to reduce the cost of air traffic control services with new technologies.
- Promotes the continued growth of our growing commercial space industry by directing the Department of Transportation to develop guidance and support licensing activities for commercial spaceports.
- Streamlines FAA certification processes to ensure U.S. companies can compete globally and provides regulatory reform efforts for the commercial space transportation sector.
- Promotes the safe and efficient integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) by providing the FAA greater flexibility to approve UAS operations, while protecting privacy and security concerns.