John Mica: “It has been almost three years since the last reauthorization expired in September 2007. As Chairman of the Aviation…”

“It has been almost three years since the last reauthorization expired in September 2007. As Chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee in 2003, I guided that bill to completion in just seven months. This had been the longest period of time between reauthorizations in the history of the FAA. This is the fourteenth in a series of FAA extensions and the sixteenth time we have come to the Floor to keep the FAA in business. Both bodies have been actively negotiating to produce a final bill that sets priorities and improves our airspace system. We cannot allow needless, controversial provisions to hijack important initiatives to improve aviation safety and allow the industry to grow. The situation has delayed bipartisan safety legislation that passed the House last fall and now sits idle. This is simply unacceptable. I support this fourteenth extension and hope that we can quickly resolve our issues and produce a much-needed FAA Reauthorization bill.”