Republican House and Senate negotiators have agreed on legislation to extend federal aviation programs for four years, with modest hikes in airport construction grants plus a new fund of as much as $500 million a year for airport security projects.
But the measure still must pass the full House and Senate and theres a major roadblock. Although Republican conferees filed the agreement, no Democrats signed it, mainly because of a provision that would permit some air traffic controller jobs to be contracted out. "In the wee hours of the night...the conference committee leadership bowed to pressure of the White House," contends John Carr, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which strongly opposes the provision.