Foxx: FAA funding patch ‘makes sense’

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx says he is willing to accept a temporary extension of federal aviation funding, despite his frequent of lawmakers for passing short-term highway spending measures. 

“Obviously with the FAA, there’s an appetite to look at structural changes,” he said during a meeting with reporters shortly after the Senate voted Tuesday to approve a six-month extension of the Federal Aviation Administration’s funding, which had been set to expire on Wednesday. 

“Given the short-time frame, it makes sense to extend out for awhile,” Foxx continued. 

{mosads}The FAA’s previous appropriations measure, which includes funding for air traffic controllers, was set to expire on Wednesday night, along with funding for most federal government functions. 

Congress has been scrambling for the last week to approve an extension of the agency’s funding until March 31, 2016. The extension was originally included in the Senate’s bill to prevent a government shutdown, but it was ultimately pulled because Democrats and a handful of Republicans opposed the measure because it would have transferred money that normally goes to Planned Parenthood to other community health providers. 

The House ended up approving a standalone funding extension on Monday, and the Senate quickly followed suit on Tuesday. 

Foxx said the extension will buy Congress more time to finish work on a long-term highway bill, which has dominated talk about transportation funding in Washington for much of the year. 

“I think honestly one of the things Congress can best do for itself is to deal with the highway bill and get that business out of the way, so that committees of jurisdiction can start to tackle FAA and so they can do it without a lot of other things entering in,” Foxx said. 

The effort to pass a long-term FAA funding bill has been complicated by a bid from House Republicans to privatize some functions of air traffic control. The effort has riled unions. 

Foxx said after the Senate vote on Tuesday that he has not taken a position on the privatization proposal. 

“I was recently alleged to have said that I would oppose the concept of FAA reform. I’ve never stated a position in favor or opposition to it,” he said. 

“I merely said that the standard we should use is a standard that improves the airspace, improves safety, improves efficiency and effectiveness,” Foxx continued. “If there’s a different way to do that, I’m open to hearing about it and I look forward to receiving more details.”  

Foxx said he would look at the proposal from the House GOP, but he would not making any promises about supporting them. 

“The devil is in the details,” he said. “As details come forward, we’re going to go call the balls and strikes just as we see them.”