PROVIDE ROBUST AVIATION FUNDING

• Increase Airport Improvement Program (AIP) investment to not less than $4 billion annually.
  
  
• Reauthorize supplemental discretionary airport infrastructure grants and ensure 50 percent of funds are used for non-hub and small hub airports and general aviation airports.
  
  
• Apportion AIP funding based on airports’ calendar year 2019 or current year passenger enplanements, whichever is highest, for the next two fiscal years. 
  
  
• Raise and index the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) rates at commercial service airports.

MODERNIZE THE NON-PRIMARY ENTITLEMENT (NPE) PROGRAM

• Increase the funding levels to airports with more activity ($1 million for national airports, $500,000 for commercial service non-primary airports and regional airports, $250,000 for local airports, $150,000 for basic airports, and $0 for unclassified airports) and correspondingly increase State Apportionment to ensure that an increase in NPE does not further reduce State Apportionment funds.
  
  
• Allow for the option of airport sponsors to transfer unused NPE funds to State aviation agencies and make them available to National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) airports within their state.  

Provide Federal Support for Transition to Fluorine Free Firefighting Foam at Airports

• Implement federally assisted clean-up programs for PFAS contamination at airports stemming from FAA-required use of firefighting foams containing PFAS, including airports that were not required to, but used the FAA-approved firefighting foam as a best practice.
  
  
• Review and provide liability protections for all U.S. airports faced with this challenge. 
  
  
• Direct the FAA to provide timely guidance on transitioning from the FAA-required firefighting foams containing PFAS to a fluorine free firefighting foam, including guidance on decontaminating existing firefighting trucks.

Improve Weather Observation Resiliency and Redundancy

• Direct the FAA to review its current certification specifications for Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) and Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) and move from design-based specifications to performance-based specifications to enable new technological solutions.
  
  
• Direct the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the ASOS and AWOS and provide recommendations on how to improve the reliability and redundancy of the system.
  
  
• Direct the FAA to provide aviation weather observer training to interested candidates to improve access to the program, thereby ensuring aircraft operation safety at rural airports.

PREPARE FOR A NEW ERA OF AVIATION

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)

• Task the FAA with developing plans and policies and identify how to make federal funding available to support both on and off airport development for AAM.
  
  
• Charge the FAA with engaging with states and industry to develop baseline standards to assist with the infrastructure planning requirements to accommodate AAM, such as electrical requirements, sensor and communication requirements, and emerging energy sources guidance, including charging standards.
  
  
• Require the FAA to establish a national standard to address AAM airspace coordination and control informed by the ongoing work of the Advanced Aviation Advisory Committee.

Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS)

• Require the FAA to establish an outline for a constructive Federal regulatory framework for drone integration strategies that support the application of a low-altitude drone activity and require the FAA to work collaboratively with states to develop an acceptable framework, including promulgation of a robust Part 108 that enables advanced operations.
  
  
• Authorize a grant program that provides not less than $100 million to state, local, and tribal governments to purchase drones for infrastructure inspection purposes and not less than $100 million to community colleges/universities to support drone education and workforce training programs.
  

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)

• Continue federal support of SAF development and production.
  
  

ENSURE AIR SERVICE TO SMALL COMMUNITIES

• Allow communities that successfully exited EAS and were then locked out of EAS due to provisions in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-95) to rejoin the program to help restore scheduled air service that has been reduced or suspended as a result of the pandemic.
  
  
• Continue investments in the Essential Air Service (EAS), Small Community Air Service Development (SCASDP), and the Contract Tower Programs.
  
  
• Address the aviation workforce shortage, including the pilot shortage.

ENHANCE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT (IIJA) MPLEMENTATION

• Provide administrative funding to States to assist with implementation.
  
  
• Ensure funds are spent efficiently by allowing airports to transfer IIJA funds between airports, including the option for State aviation agencies to assist in transferring funds between airports in their State.

ENHANCE THE STATE BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM

• Authorize the FAA to provide funding to participating Block Grant States to be used to administer the State Block Grant Program (SBGP) to bring the administrative costs borne by the States more in line with other modal programs of the U.S. Department of  Transportation.
  
  
• Direct the FAA to provide Block Grant States with program administration training sufficient to carry out the obligations of the SBGP at no cost to the Block Grant States.
  

IMPROVE TIMELINESS OF FAA ISSUANCE OF AIP GRANTS

• Direct the GAO to review FAA’s process for releasing/issuing grants and provide recommendations on how FAA can improve its process to ensure timely grant issuance.