Senate Passes FAA Reauthorization Bill

The Senate finally passed its FAA reauthorization bill this week, 93-0. Business aviation groups applauded the legislation, which calls for no user fees for general aviation but does stipulate a small increase in federal excise taxes on jet-A and aviation gas. The bill-which establishes deadlines for adopting existing "NextGen" navigation and surveillance technology-must now be reconciled with a House version passed last May. That could take a while, because the bills differ significantly.