This was forwarded to me tonight.


Subject: DC Update 12.4.16



DC UPDATE



NAI

This past Friday, on three year anniversary of Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) application for a foreign air carrier permit, the Department of Transportation gave its final approval for the carrier. Saturday, President Obama signed the order making it official. The docket link can be found HERE. As you read in ALPA’s press release (available HERE), we are aggressively reviewing all options.



ALPA will continue to fight this egregious misinterpretation of the Open Skies agreement by the DOT. ALPA’s legal and GA teams are preparing an action plan for immediate next steps. Many of you have been in contact with various government affairs team members over the weekend. We will have more information for you to share with your pilot groups in the next several days, but below are the answers to a couple common questions we’ve received.



What options are you reviewing?

The Legal team is evaluating the possibility of a court challenge, and the Government Affairs team is working through draft iterations of legislative language. We are contacting elected officials and members of the President-elect’s transition team for input. All options remain on the table.



Can President-elect Trump reverse this?

No. Unless a court intervenes to stay the DOT’s order until after January 20th (one option under review in the legal department), NAI’s permit will be granted and in-hand this week. At that point, a new docket would have to open, and new separate proceedings begin to revoke the permit. Such an action could not be taken by the President-elect unilaterally.



ON THE HILL

Last week the House passed the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) after a year of negotiation. During the closed door discussions, Senator Inhofe and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) have tried to insert language which would eliminate third class medical requirements for private pilots. This action flies in the face of the compromise language ALPA supported just five months ago. Once again, AOPA has demonstrated bad faith in their negotiations with ALPA on this issue. Despite this cloak-and-dagger attempt to undermine the safety of our airspace, ALPA was successful at removing the language from the NDAA and we will continue to monitor every bill moving through Congress to ensure this harmful language never becomes law.



House and Senate Republican leaders are finalizing a new continuing resolution to fund the government through the spring. Included in the CR are several ALPA priorities such as the Federal Flight Deck Officers program. Additionally, a reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) is expected before Congress adjourns. These legislative items are likely to be the last bills passed by the 114th Congress before they adjourn on Friday or early next week. The 115th Congress will convene on January 3rd, 2017.










Vanessa Kermick
Grassroots Coordinator

Government Affairs
Air Line Pilots Association, International
(202) 797-4042
(202) 797-4030 (Fax)