Congress Could Weigh FAA, PFC Bill This Week

The Senate may vote on a multi-year Federal Aviation Administration bill this week that could include an increase in the cap on passenger facilities charges, a key lawmaker and others said Tuesday at a meeting here sponsored by the American Association of Airport Executives.

House and Senate lawmakers have been working to resolve a handful of disputed provisions in FAA bills that each chamber has approved.

The controversial provisions include whether or how much to increase the PFCs, which currently are capped at $4.50 and used by airports to back bonds.

The most recent legislation approved by the House would raise the PFC cap to $7, while a Senate proposal would create a pilot program under which six airports could charge any PFC as long as they collect the fees separately from airline tickets.

Multiple stopgap measures have substituted for a full reauthorization since the last FAA law expired in ­September 2007.

Frustrated by the repeated delays, market participants are watching closely for signs that Congress might pass a multi-year FAA bill before it adjourns for the August recess.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., told those attending the meeting yesterday, “I think we’re going to have a bill by the end of the week” from the Senate.

But Sam Whitehorn, executive vice president at McBee Strategic and former Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee staffer, said that “unless this thing is completely greased, it’s not going to get floor time in the Senate.”

Market participants at the meeting agreed with Whitehorn that if the Senate brings a bill to the floor that includes controversial provisions, it could ping-pong between the chambers.

Oberstar said he would like to see the PFC cap increased to $8.15 or $8.50, so that airport revenues would more closely match the rising costs of construction.

The Senate may ultimately propose a modest $1 PFC increase, according to Whitehorn.

Some Republicans in Congress, such as House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ranking minority member John Mica of Florida, would rather remove the cap entirely.

“It’s a free market system [and] that’s what we need” for airport usage fees, said Jim Coon, Republican chief of staff for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who also spoke at the meeting.

Oberstar acknowledged airline objections to a PFC increase — on the grounds that additional fees for air travel would hurt the aviation industry — but scoffed at them.

“They’re being very relentless with it,” he said, noting that airlines charged $7.8 billion in extra fees last year. “They are just gaming the system.”

If lawmakers fail to agree on a new multi-year bill before the current extension expires Aug. 1, it could be September or even February before they revisit the legislation, Coon told those attending the meeting.

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Transportation industry Washington
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