The Senate voted October 7 to approve a four-year, $45 billion aviation renewal bill (S. 82), sending the measure to a House/Senate conference committee to work out differences with the House-passed bill, known as AIR-21 (H.R. 1000).

Senate action on the measure now clears the way for a broader debate with House transportation leaders, led by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Bud Shuster (PA), who have marshaled strong bipartisan support for moving the Aviation Trust Fund off budget and guaranteeing higher spending in future years for the nation's airports and program efforts at the Federal Aviation Administration.

The House and Senate negotiations on spending levels parallels last year's work on surface transportation policy where the House prevailed in securing enactment of the "Transportation Equity Act of 1998" or TEA-21, legislation that increased investment in the nation's highway and transit systems by more than $50 billion over six years.

Under S. 82, the Senate embraced a more limited commitment to aviation spending.  The measure does not include provisions to increase and guarantee spending from the Aviation Trust Fund or to allow airport operators authority to raise Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs) above current levels (i.e. $3 per passenger per airport, with trip cap of $6 on a one-way ticket and $12 on a round-trip ticket).

The Senate bill authorizes FAA's Airport Improvement Program (AIP), the dominant source of new federal capital for airport improvements such as runways, terminals and noise mitigation, at $2.4 billion annually through Fiscal Year 2002.  This contrasts with provisions of Shuster's AIR-21 legislation, which provides nearly $4.2 billion annually in Fiscal Years 2001-2004.

During debate on S. 82, Senators focused their attention on certain airports that use slots to control flights in and out of their airports, adopting provisions affecting flights at Reagan Washington National, Chicago O'Hare Airport and New York's LaGuardia and JFK.

In another change to current law, S. 82 would increase commitments to noise mitigation by raising the cap on AIP discretionary spending to 35 percent, up from the current level of 31 percent.

Immediately following Senate action, House and Senate leaders appointed conferees to work out differences between S. 82 and H.R. 1000.  Conference committee negotiations, which are likely to begin this week, are expected to focus on the House provisions which move the Trust Funds off budget, substantially increase future spending commitments and grant broader local authority to raise PFCs.