![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Todd_thumb-2.jpg\")
Aviation Associations, including ACI-NA, AAAE and NASAO, were\nquick to recognize the steps taken. \u201cThe proposal unveiled today is an\nexcellent starting point in gaining much-needed assistance to airports\nstruggling to deal with the unprecedented challenges caused by coronavirus,\u201d\nsaid Todd Hauptli, AAAE President, \u201cand we are grateful for the steadfast\nleadership of Senator Susan Collins and Appropriations Committee leaders.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A summary of the appropriations measure can be found here<\/a> and the bill text here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The introduction of this measure kicks off talks with\nDemocrats on provisions to include in a final bill that Congress hopes to\napprove in the next two weeks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe nation\u2019s state aviation officials are pleased to see\nthat policymakers on both sides of the aisle agree that additional aid to\nairports is vital as the nation protects aviation \u2013 a critical part of our\ntransportation system,\u201d said Gregory Pecoraro, President and CEO of NASAO. \u201cWe\nhope that the discussions to resolve the differing aid bills will extend to\nproviding federal support for states as requested by the nation\u2019s governors,\nincluding state aviation programs, which have also been hard hit by the decline\nin aviation tax revenue. State aviation agencies make it possible for airports\nto operate safely and meet the needs of the traveling public and businesses\nthat depend on air cargo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to ACI-NA, of the $10 billion for airports, $9.5\nbillion would be set aside for commercial service airports and $500 million for\ngeneral aviation airports for any purpose for which airport revenues may\nlawfully be used, all with no local match requirements. No airport that\nreceived in excess of four years of operating capital through the CARES Act\nwould be eligible for additional funding. The FAA could not obligate any of\nthis new funding until at least 90 percent of the CARES Act funds have been\nobligated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The commercial service funds would be allocated based on a\ncombination of the AIP enplanement and cargo entitlement formulas (with double\nentitlements and no PFC giveback), with the remainder being divided up based on\noverall enplanements. Small, medium, and large hubs would be required to retain\nat least 90 percent of their employees (as of March 27, 2020,) through March\n31, 2021. The general aviation funds have an $8.15 million set aside for\ncontract towers, while the rest distributed based on NPIAS categories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The appropriations measure also includes funding for TSA and\nCBP. A total of $208 million would be for TSA, including $88 million for the\nagency to sanitize checkpoints and other areas of airports, $50 million for\nprocuring \u201ccredential authentication technology units,\u201d and $70 million for\nprocuring computed tomography scanner technologies. CBP would receive $1.6\nbillion to make up for user fee shortfalls resulting from the COVID-19\npandemic, which would save the agency from making drastic staffing cuts at its\nports-of-entry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the appropriations measure, Senate GOP\nleaders introduced the Safe to Work Act as part of their HEALS Act proposal,\nwhich would provide liability protection to various entities, including state\nand local governments, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically the\nbill temporarily limits liability for personal injuries arising from alleged\nCOVID-19 exposure, creates detailed procedural requirements to prevent\nfrivolous litigation in federal court, and covers coronavirus-related exposure\ninjuries that take place between December 1, 2019, and October 1, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regrettably, Hauptli said, the situation at America\u2019s\nairports and with the entire aviation system remains dire with traffic still\ndown 70-75 percent and with the outlook beyond the summer becoming increasingly\nconcerning. The proposed $10 billion would help airports weather the storm of\ndramatically reduced passengers, which appears likely for the foreseeable\nfuture, and we look forward to working with the bipartisan leadership of\nCongress to gain passage of a final package that helps airports and the entire\naviation ecosystem survive into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Senate Republican leaders yesterday released the details of their next COVID-19 relief package, collectively called the HEALS Act, which calls for additional $10 billion in emergency funding for airports, as well as nearly $2 billion in additional resources for TSA and CBP. Aviation Associations, including ACI-NA, AAAE and NASAO, were quick to recognize the steps […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16139"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16141,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16139\/revisions\/16141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/greg-1.jpeg\")