It seems likely legislators will miss a Sept. 30 deadline to pass an FAA reauthorization bill but they may not require yet another short-term extension. The Senate sent its suggested revisions of the House version of the bill back to the House for consideration last week. But the House is adjourned all next week and won’t reconvene until Sept. 25. That’s a short window to hash out the final details and it might not get done in time for the president’s signature by the time the current extension expires Sept. 30. There has been some discussion of missing the deadline by a day or two to get a final deal rather than push it down the legislative road.
There are a number of niggling issues in the way of bilateral ratification of the bill, including a measure to allow states to set rest and meal break rules for truck drivers, whether to allow the FAA to regulate model aircraft, and measures on drones and self-driving cars. If resolution isn’t made on any or all of those issues, the alternative is a funding extension as the government heads into what appears to be a tumultuous period ahead of and in the aftermath of the November midterm elections.
