by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:17 AM ET, Thu October 4, 2018
The United States Senate passed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2018 Wednesday.
According to The Associated Press, the Senate approved $1.7 billion to help people impacted by Hurricane Florence and other natural disasters as part of legislation that awards about $90 billion to federal aviation programs over the next five years.
The FAA Reauthorization Act was approved by a vote of 93-6, and will now be sent to the desk of President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign the bill into law.
Once passed, the legislation will call on the FAA to set a minimum size for plane seats and legroom, ban airlines from kicking passengers off overbooked flights and implement ideas reducing the amount of time spent going through security checks.
Airlines for America (A4A) CEO Nicholas E. Calio released a statement on the Senate's approval of the Reauthorization Act:
Today, with a vote of 93 to 6, the Senate joined 398 members of the House of Representatives in showing overwhelming, bipartisan support for the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2018. The legislation provides long-term certainty, which is critical toward maintaining a safe and affordable travel experience for consumers in communities across the country and throughout the world. The Senate Commerce Committee leadership - along with their staffs - should be commended for achieving a long-term bill that protects the interests of both the traveling and shipping public, as well as the more than 700,000 workers in the commercial aviation industry.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker also issued a statement on the bill's approval:
American Airlines commends Congress for passing a bipartisan, multiyear FAA bill that will provide needed certainty, enhance safety, and help us better serve our team members, customers and airports throughout our network. We thank Chairman Shuster, Ranking Member DeFazio, Chairman Thune and Ranking Member Nelson for their leadership and commitment to the aviation industry, as well as their staffs for their hard work on this legislation.
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