Aviation Spending Guarantee Mechanisms (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised March 25, 2008 |
| Report Number |
RL33654 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Robert S. Kirk, Resources, Science, and Industry Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
Since the 1971 creation of the user-supported airport and airway trust fund in the Airport and Airway Development and Revenue Acts of 1970 (P.L. 91-259) there has been disagreement over the appropriate use of the trust fund's revenues. Some Members of Congress viewed the trust fund as primarily a capital account that would fund the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airport and airway (mostly air traffic control) capital requirements. Others, including the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), some executive agencies, as well as some members of congressional appropriations and budget committees, viewed the trust fund as the basis for a user-pay system that would also fund some or all of the FAA's operations expenses.
Since 1976, Congress has passed and amended a series of legislative provisions designed to "guarantee" the full funding of the FAA's capital programsâthe Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and Facilities and Equipment program (F&E). From FY1977 through FY1990, the guarantees consisted of a variety of "cap and penalty" provisions which set a legislated cap on the amount of aviation trust fund money that could be used to fund FAA operations. In addition, penalty mechanisms were put in place that would reduce the cap by formula amounts in proportion to the capital programs' shortfall of appropriated funding from their authorized amounts. Although the cap and penalty provisions had some apparent early success, there was growing resistance to passing appropriations bills that adhered to the penalties during the 1980s. In 1990, Congress removed the penalty. Some form of cap continued through 1998.
In 2000, the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (P.L. 106-181; AIR21) included two new spending guarantees. One made it "out-of-order" in the House or Senate to consider legislation that failed to use all trust fund receipts and interest annually. The second made it out-of-order to consider any bills that provided any funding for research or operations if it failed to fully fund AIP and F&E at their authorized levels. These guarantees were extended through FY2007 in Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (P.L. 108-176; Vision 100). AIP has been nearly fully funded under these provisions. F&E has not during recent years.
Both the cap and penalty, and the point of order enforced guarantees have had mixed success. The success depends on the support that enforcing the mechanism has maintained during the appropriations process. The history of these guarantees indicates that the broader budgetary situation can trump the spending guarantees.
Aviation funding guarantees have received consideration during the FAA reauthorization debate of the 110th Congress. Options discussed during the debate have included retaining the current system, modifying the current guarantees, resurrecting a mechanism analogous to the cap and penalty provisions, reconsidering taking the trust fund "off-budget," or erecting budgetary "fire walls" as was done for the highway and transit programs in 1998.
