H.R. 13

A bill to direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to implement reforms to the Liaison and Familiarization Training Program.

     H.R. 57

A bill to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit political action committees from making contributions or expenditures for the purpose of influencing elections for Federal office, and for other purposes

     H.R. 99

A bill to amend title 49, United States Code, to extend Federal Aviation Administration programs through September 30, 1999, and for other purposes.

     H.R. 110

A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for the establishment of a program under which long-term care insurance is made available to Federal employees and annuitants, and for other purposes.

    H.R. 111

A bill to provide off-budget treatment for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.

    H.R. 208

A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to allow for the contribution of certain rollover distributions to accounts in the Thrift Savings Plan, to eliminate certain waiting-period requirements for participating in the Thrift Savings Plan, and for other purposes.

General information:

The House civil service subcommittee approved HR-208, Connie Morella, R-Md, TSP reform legislation that would allow new federal employees to roll over money from certain qualified private-sector retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, into the Thrift Savings Plan.    The bill would also allow employees who leave government service to roll TSP funds into a private-sector retirement plan.

H.R. 208 passed by the subcommittee did not contain a more controversial suggestion that the TSP's current salary investment limits be eliminated and employees be allowed to invest up to the IRS-set limit-currently $10,000.  Morella has introduced that proposal in another piece of legislation, HR-483, which has yet to be considered by the subcommittee. That bill is considered a tougher sell because of the lost tax revenues if employees diverted more money into the tax-deferred plan.

     H.R. 1000 (AIR21)

FAA reauthorization.  A bill that would take AIP of budget and create an oversight board for the FAA.

General information:

There are now three re-authorization bills competing for passage on the Hill.   President Clinton's bill which calls for a PBO organization and user fees to pay for the air traffic control system. Senator McCain's bill that would leave the trust fund on budget, and now Shuster's "AIR21", that would take the trust fund off budget.   McCain's bill, which cleared his committee last week, increases flights out of Washington's Reagan National Airport by 48 slots, or 24 round-trip flights, a day, half going beyond the 1,250-mile limit for flights now in place.

McCain's bill has opposition from lawmakers surrounding Washington. They are concerned about adding flights and it's impact on the environment and that the increased slots would hurt the IAD and BWI.  Sen. John Warner, R-Va., in a Senate floor speech last week, said ``how detrimental this excessive increase in flights will be for our hard-fought regional balance, air traffic safety and consumer service.''  He introduced legislation to limit the number of new round-trip flights at Reagan National to 12, the number in a similar bill the Senate passed last year, 92-1.

Efforts to reach a House-Senate compromise last year on FAA reauthorization stalled over the increased flight issue, with Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., the House Judiciary Committee chairman, opposing more flights out of O'Hare.  A stopgap six-month bill was approved, and that legislation expires March 31. The House has already passed another six-month extension to give the two chambers time to work out their differences.

A brief comparison of the three bills:

Shuster's bill (click here for the bill text) would:

• Increase the facilities and equipment program, which funds air traffic control equipment, from $1 billion to $3 billion annually.

• Eliminate flight ceilings at O'Hare, Kennedy and La Guardia, and add six slots at Reagan National for underserved airports and markets.

• Increase funding for the Airport Improvement Program, which funds runways, taxiways and provides noise abatement, from $2 billion to $5 billion annually.

The McCain bill, authorizing the FAA for two years, would:

• Add 48 slots at Reagan National, with 24 for flights beyond the 1,250-mile perimeter.

• Provide 30 slot exemptions at O'Hare, with 18 for service to underserved communities and add flights from Kennedy and La Guardia for smaller airports.

The administration bill, a five-year reauthorization, would:

• Drop limits on the number of flights at airports in Chicago and New York in five years, but would not change flights or how far they can fly at Washington.

• Increase an airport tax which goes to state and local authorities from $3 to $5 per airport and institute $1.5 billion in new user fees for the air traffic control system.
  

     S. 383

A bill to establish a national policy of basic consumer fair treatment for airline passengers.

     S. 536

A bill entitled the "Wendell H. Ford National Air Transportation System Improvement Act of 1999