This week, the Senate continued debate on H.R. 636, the legislative vehicle for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization bill. H.R. 636 provides $33.1 billion for aviation programs, and would reauthorize the FAA through FY 2017.
On Tuesday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that an earlier deal on energy tax extenders expected to be added to the bill fell through due to the number of other controversial tax provisions some Senators had pushed to have added to the package. Instead, a clean extension of the aviation tax provisions has been added to the bill. Several other amendments have been adopted including an amendment sponsored by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune and Ranking Member Bill Nelson which added a number of aviation security provisions to the bill in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Brussels. The Senate will continue to debate the bill and consider additional amendments. A final vote on the package is expected early next week.