Chris Van Hollen: “the Senate finally completed its work on a new longterm FAA Reauthorization bill. This 5-year bill will give the…”

“the Senate finally completed its work on a new longterm FAA Reauthorization bill. This 5-year bill will give the aviation industry the certainty it needs in order to plan for future investments and service enhancements. This bill also gives the FAA the direction and tools necessary to address customer and community concerns that arise from those activities. Stable funding for the Airport Improvement Program, AIP, is an essential program for both large and small airports. In this fiscal year, in my home State of Maryland, 13 airports received 16 separate grants to aid in construction related improvements. These are projects that likely would have been delayed or postponed if it were not for AIP. This bill contains language that I supported to address the negative effects of airplane noise on homeowners. Directing the FAA to review how they work with communities impacted by airplane noise and study the health impacts of noise is a step in the right direction toward tackling the impacts of NextGen implementation. I look forward to working with the FAA to ensure the provisions in this bill are implemented and to strive for additional ways to address the perpetual problem of noise in our communities.…”