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Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2024

Public Law 118-41 · H.R. 7454 · 118th Congress · began in the House

Signed by Joe Biden (D) on Mar 8, 2024 · Transportation and Public Works

Sponsor: Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO-6)

Cosponsors (1): Rep. Rick Larsen

Passage votesYeaNay

  • HouseRecorded vote: 401 yea, 19 nay401–19
  • SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

This act temporarily extends specific Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) programs and activities through May 10, 2024.

TITLE I--FEDERAL AVIATION PROGRAMS

(Sec. 101) This section extends through May 10, 2024, the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). This program provides grants for planning, development, and noise compatibility projects at or associated with certain public-use airports.

(Sec. 102) This section extends through May 10, 2024, certain expiring Department of Transportation (DOT) and FAA authorities and programs.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the authority of DOT to provide insurance and reinsurance for the federal government for risks from operating an aircraft and providing related goods or services.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the FAA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Test Site Program, which provides verification of the safety of public and civil UAS, operations, and related navigation procedures before their integration into the national airspace system.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the authority of DOT to provide exemptions from some requirements for UAS by using a risk-based approach to determine if certain UAS may operate safely in the national airspace system.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the FAA's airport safety and airspace hazard mitigation and enforcement program to test and evaluate technologies or systems that detect and mitigate potential aviation safety risks posed by UAS.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, competitive access disclosure requirements for AIP grant applications for large and medium hub airports. Specifically, an airport must provide assurances to DOT that it will report if it has been unable to accommodate one or more requests by an air carrier for access to gates or other facilities at that airport in order to provide service or expanded service.

This section extends authorization through May 10, 2024, for AIP grants for airports located in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

This section extends authorization through May 10, 2024, for the FAA AIP supplementary discretionary funds for grants for airport or terminal development projects.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, AIP grant authorization for compatible land use planning and projects by state and local governments. Airport-compatible land uses are those that can coexist with a nearby airport without constraining the safe and efficient operation of the airport, or exposing people living or working nearby to significant environmental impacts.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, authorization for the AIP non-movement area surveillance surface display systems pilot grant program. These systems use on-airport sensors to track vehicles or aircraft that are equipped with transponders on portions of the airfield surface that are not under the control of air traffic control.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, authorization for the FAA weather reporting programs.

This section extends to May 11, 2024, a learning period (i.e., moratorium) that applies to certain DOT commercial spaceflight safety regulations governing the design or operation of a launch vehicle to protect the health and safety of crew, government astronauts, and space flight participants.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, authority for DOT to enter into a reimbursable agreement with the Department of Interior for the purpose of funding airport development at Midway Island Airport.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the termination date for a final order establishing mileage and adjustment eligibility under the Essential Air Service (EAS) Program using the most commonly used route between the place and the nearest medium hub airport or large hub airport. (The EAS program was established to ensure that small communities that were served by certificated air carriers before the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 would continue to receive scheduled passenger service.)

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the moratorium on discontinuing the FAA Contract Weather Observer Program at any airport.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the authority for the FAA remote tower pilot program. A remote tower is a remotely operated air navigation facility, including all necessary system components, that provides the functions and capabilities of an air traffic control tower whereby air traffic services are provided to operators at an airport from a location that may not be on or near the airport.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the authority for DOT to provide AIP grants for airport access roads in certain remote locations and for storage facilities for certain snow removal and safety equipment.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the authority for the FAA's UAS remote detection and identification pilot program. Under the program, the FAA uses available remote detection or identification technologies for safety oversight, including enforcement actions against operators of UAS that are not in compliance with federal aviation laws and regulations.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the authority for the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee, which advises DOT in carrying out activities relating to airline customer service improvements.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the requirement that the Aviation Consumer Advocate at DOT submit an annual report to Congress summarizing aviation consumer complaints and recommendations.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the authority for the FAA Air Carrier Access Act Advisory Committee to address the needs of passengers with disabilities.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the authority for an FAA pilot program to provide air traffic control services on a preferential basis to aircraft equipped with certain Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) avionics.

This section extends through May 10, 2024, the pilot program that allows AIP funds to be used for activities related to the redevelopment of airport properties.

(Sec. 103) This section reauthorizes through May 10, 2024, FAA salaries, operations, and maintenance.

Further, this section extends through May 10, 2024, DOT's authority to reduce the FAA's expenses for non-safety-related activities if DOT determines that the funding levels are insufficient to meet the FAA's authorized salary, operations, and maintenance expenses.

(Sec. 104) This section extends through May 10, 2024, the FAA's authority to acquire, establish, and improve air navigation facilities and equipment.

(Sec. 105) This section extends through May 10, 2024, the FAA's authority to conduct civil aviation research, engineering, and development.

(Sec. 106) This section reauthorizes through May 10, 2024, the FAA Essential Air Service Program.

Further, this section reauthorizes through May 10, 2024, the Small Community Air Service Development Program, a DOT grant program designed to help small communities address air service and airfare issues.

TITLE II--AVIATION REVENUE PROVISIONS

(Sec. 201) This section extends through May 10, 2024, the FAA's authority for expenditures from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF). The AATF is the primary funding source for all major FAA accounts that fund federal aviation programs, with the remainder coming from general fund appropriations.

(Sec. 202) This section extends through May 10, 2024, the authority for the FAA to collect various taxes and fees to fund the AATF, including taxes on aviation fuel and airline tickets.

TITLE III--MISCELLANEOUS EXTENSIONS

(Sec. 301) This section extends through May 10, 2024, the authority of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to take certain actions to mitigate a credible threat to certain facilities or assets from an unmanned aircraft system (UAS). These include certain facilities that are located in the United States and identified as high-risk and a potential target for unlawful UAS activity.

Who voted for it

Every House member of the 118th Congress on the ideology compass. Highlighted: the 401 who voted yea on final passage. Faded: everyone else, including those who voted nay, did not vote, or had not yet taken office.

401 yea19 nay12 present or did not vote

ProEstablishmentAnti
Economic left–right
More liberalMore conservative

Democrats who voted yea(210)

Republicans who voted yea(191)

Data notes

The House’s recorded vote on the final version of the law (roll call 777 in Voteview), matched to the vote the record cites and checked against its totals. Positions are each member’s DW-NOMINATE score for that Congress, as on the Ideology page; left to right is more liberal to more conservative. Paired and announced yea votes count as yea. Lists follow the compass, most liberal first. A name links to a profile only for members of the current Congress. A law passed by voice vote or unanimous consent has no member list, and neither does a vote Voteview has not yet recorded.

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Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Related bills

1 bill the Library of Congress relates to this one.

  • H.R. 6503 · became Public Law 118-34Related bill

    Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2023, Part II

Data notes

Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 17 actions.

  1. Mar 8, 2024Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 118-41.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. FloorFloor · Presented to President.
  4. Mar 7, 2024FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
  5. Mar 6, 2024FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
  6. Feb 29, 2024FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  7. FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 401 - 19 (Roll no. 59).House roll call 59
  8. FloorFloor · Considered as unfinished business.
  9. FloorFloor · At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  10. FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 7454.
  11. FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
  12. FloorFloor · Mr. Graves (MO) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  13. CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate, read twice.
  14. Feb 27, 2024CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Aviation.
  15. Feb 26, 2024CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security.
  16. CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Science, Space, and Technology, the Judiciary, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of…
  17. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes

Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.

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Amendments

1 amendment offered to the bill, with the last recorded step of each.

Data notes

Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.

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Official record

The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.