Washington, DC — TTD President Larry I. Willis issues this statement on H.R. 4, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018:
“As the House prepares to consider the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, we offer our support for a bipartisan bill that enhances aviation safety and protects and promotes good middle-class jobs. We urge legislators to reject amendments that will undermine the safety improvements included in H.R. 4 or jeopardize the rights and jobs of frontline transportation workers.
“We are especially pleased the underlying legislation includes a number of key priorities for which TTD and our affiliated unions have long fought. Under the House bill, flight attendants will finally receive the minimum rest requirements they need to be alert and ready to keep passengers and crew safe. Additionally, H.R. 4 takes an important step to mitigate and stop a growing problem at our nation’s airports: assaults on customer service agents. And by barring dangerous flag-of-convenience schemes, this legislation upholds the integrity of our aviation trade agreements and defends good jobs in the U.S. aviation industry from unfair competition.
“This legislation also prioritizes safety by rejecting attempts to weaken crucial training and experience requirements for pilots, banning in-flight voice calls, ensuring the safe transport of lithium batteries, and securing secondary cockpit barriers.
“Just as important as its many safety and labor provisions, this legislation provides the FAA with funding targets and a long-term authorization that must be used to make real progress on modernizing our air traffic control system and providing frontline workers with the resources they need and deserve.
“We applaud Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Ranking Democrat Peter DeFazio (D-OR) for leading efforts to craft this bipartisan legislation and to ensure it meets the needs of our diverse aviation network and the men and women who work in and around this industry. We look forward to working with members of Congress to further improve this bill as it moves through the legislative process.”