NATA’s downtown offices are coming to life again as the Washington, DC, workforce emerges from more than a year of pandemic-related shutdowns and remote work. At the same time, action on Capitol Hill returned to a feverish pace in September when Congress returned from its annual August recess to face several critical fiscal deadlines. This summer also brought a few changes to my role at NATA as I was named Managing Director of Legislative Affairs & Industry Relations. My first love has always been Capitol Hill, where I began my career as a Congressional staffer and then as an association lobbyist. I work closely with our President and CEO Tim Obitts to formulate and implement NATA’s legislative priorities and to act as a conduit between you and your elected officials at all levels—local, state, and national.  

Potential Government Shutdown

Talks of a potential government shutdown took on new urgency this week with FY 2021 funding set to expire at midnight tomorrow. Congress’ first attempt at a stopgap funding measure was stymied by a provision to extend the public debt ceiling, but both chambers have announced plans to vote on a clean continuing resolution as early as this evening to keep government agencies open until December 3. This situation is not unusual—Congress often passes a series of continuing resolutions to fund the government while it finalizes annual appropriations. In the unlikely event that these efforts fail, however, delays in FAA operations could impact aviation businesses. Our government affairs team is monitoring the situation closely, remaining in contact with FAA, and will keep you informed of developments. 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

In the meantime, infrastructure legislation remains a moving target even as the House of Representatives prepares to vote this week on the Senate-passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Passage of the $1 trillion package, which includes much-needed investment in general aviation airports through the Airport Improvement Program and Contract Tower Program, is far from guaranteed. House progressives continue to oppose the bipartisan infrastructure bill until a much larger $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation is ready for a vote, but weeks of work remain in both the House and Senate on that massive legislative vehicle.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel Blenders Tax Credit

One key provision included in the larger reconciliation measure is the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Blenders Tax Credit (SAF BTC), which would aid the business aviation sector in meeting our sustainability goals. Working with a broad coalition of partners from across the aviation industry, NATA is advocating for measures that incentivize SAF production in a meaningful way. In response to our coalition’s efforts, the House Ways and Means Committee included a long-term, refundable, dedicated SAF tax credit in its markup. Now we are focused on the Senate Finance Committee as it considers several potential energy tax credit formulas—not all of which would level the biodiesel playing field for SAF production.    

Industry-wide Collaboration

Although budget and infrastructure have dominated much of the news coming out of Washington, we continue to make progress on numerous other initiatives on Capitol Hill. As always, our focus remains on protecting your aviation businesses while we collaborate with other leading aviation associations to address industry-wide concerns. Recent collective efforts have addressed flight training regulations for experimental aircraft as well as flight training funding for veterans, advocated for advanced air mobility planning grants, and opposed dangerous “flight sharing” measures. 

Please contact me at khuggard@nata.aero or (571) 384-0970 if I can assist you in any way with federal, state, or local legislation that affects your aviation business.

For general press inquiries, contact Shannon Chambers at 703-298-1347 or schambers@nata.aero. 

The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has been the voice of aviation business for more than 80 years. Representing nearly 3,700 aviation businesses, NATA’s member companies provide a broad range of services to general aviation, the airlines and the military and NATA serves as the public policy group representing the interests of aviation businesses before Congress and the federal agencies.