Construction officials hoped the House also would add amendments to boost AIP funds and remove the $4.50 cap on passenger facility charges (PFCs), a key construction funding source. It was unclear whether either would be adopted.

An amendment from Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) would raise AIP gradually, to about $4 billion in 2023. Brian Deery, senior director of the Associated General Contractors of America highway and transportation division, says, “Obviously, we’d like to see that [AIP program] boosted up.” He adds, “There’s money in the [aviation] trust fund for it and it’s been flat-level funding for a lot of years.”

If Barletta’s AIP amendment fails, airport grants still will have a banner year. Authorizations are subject to an annual appropriation. AIP’s is $4.3 billion this year, thanks to a $1-billion infusion in the 2018 omnibus spending measure.

An amendment from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), would eliminate the PFC cap, set at $4.50 since 2000. FAA pegs 2017 PFC collections at $3.3 billion.

Industry sees the six-year House measure as a welcome change after three stopgaps since July 2016. The latest extension, enacted March 23 in the omnibus package, lapses Sept. 30.

The Senate Commerce Committee last June cleared a four-year FAA bill with annual AIP hikes, topping out at $3.75 billion. It keeps the $4.50 PFC cap. A Senate aide says, “We’re hoping to have a long-term reauthorization in place by August.” Dave Bauer, American Road & Transportation Builders Association executive vice president, says, “If the House approves a bill, every indication that we’ve heard …from [Hill] leadership and others is that FAA is one of the things that they’re going to do in the remainder of the year.”