NATCA in Washington 2019 is just one month away!

Registration is now closed. If you registered, but have not yet heard from your National Legislative Committee (NLC) member whether you were selected to attend based on the congressional districts in which you reside, please contact your NLC member (contact information here).

The conference kicks off on Sunday, May 19. Registration opens at 1 p.m. EDT, and the opening reception begins at 7 p.m. EDT. The general session begins Monday, May 20 at 9 a.m. EDT. There will be regional breakout sessions from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and 5-6 p.m. EDT, and regional dinners that evening.

Our first confirmed speaker is Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., at 4 p.m. EDT on May 20. Congressman Meadows has represented North Carolina's 11th Congressional District since 2013. He is an active member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, where he serves on the Aviation Subcommittee. Additionally, he serves on the Government Reform Committee, and is the top Republican on the Government Operations Subcommittee which has jurisdiction over many federal employee issues.

On Tuesday, May 21, there will be workshop classes in the morning on a variety of important legislative topics. These classes will be followed by scheduled congressional meetings in the afternoon and our annual congressional reception late that afternoon. More scheduled congressional meetings will be held on Wednesday, May 22. We will provide a full agenda to registered attendees as we get closer to the event.

"In many ways, because of the 35-day government shutdown, it feels like this will be our fourth NATCA in Washington of the year," NLC Chair Steve Weidner said. "Our dedicated NATCA activists from around the country who came to Washington, D.C., to talk about the shutdown with members of Congress and their staff members, and its intensely negative effects, set the stage for the 'main event' next month. We are excited to bring more than 450 dedicated NATCA members to the nation's capital to continue these critically important discussions."

Weidner added, "We say each year, 'this is our most important NATCA in Washington ever,' and this year is no different. It really is. From potential shutdown threats looming, to constant vigilance about changes to federal employee retirement and other benefits, controller staffing issues, and more, each of our members' discussions with their Congressional district offices will carry enormous importance and every NATCA member will be affected by what transpires."

H.R. 1108 was introduced by Reps. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, and Rick Larsen, D-Wash., Chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee. The lead Republican on the legislation is Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, a senior member of the House T&I Committee. This legislation was introduced following the 35-day government shutdown that wreaked havoc on the National Airspace System and its workforce.

The T&I Committee passed H.R. 1108 on Wednesday, March 27 by unanimous consent. Since introduction of the bill, the NLC, NATCA activists, and Government Affairs staff have been aggressively working to encourage members of Congress to sign on as co-sponsors to this important legislation. The legislation has faced hurdles and political challenges, especially among the leadership of the House Appropriations Committee and the House Ways & Means Committee. Despite that, the legislation has garnered 146 bipartisan co-sponsors so far.

"Stop-and-go funding crises wreak havoc on the personal lives of air traffic controllers and other aviation safety professionals, degrade the safety of the National Airspace System, delay critical modernization and infrastructure projects, and exacerbate the current controller staffing crisis," NATCA President Paul Rinaldi said. "We absolutely must not endure even one more day living and working under a government shutdown. Our aviation system, which is a national treasure, deserves better. The system requires a stable, predictable funding stream. Chairman DeFazio's bill provides a better way, and it has our full support."

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Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne toured Des Moines ATCT (DSM). The tour was led by Alternate Central Region National Legislative Committee Member Ryan Burr, DSM FacRep Dan Sherritt, Iowa State Legislative Coordinator Sarah Soma, and DSM Air Traffic Manager Ken Henze. 

"Congresswoman Axne showed a lot of interest in our work and expressed some surprise at the scope of what we do," Burr said.

New Mexico Congressman Ben Luján toured Albuquerque ATCT (ABQ), guided by ABQ VP Danny Richardson, Albuquerque Center (ZAB) Legislative Rep Derek Bray, and acting ABQ Air Traffic Manager Betsy Sutton. Congressman  Luján is the Assistant Speaker of the House, the fourth-highest position in the chamber.

"Along with so many other projects, the acquisition of airspace around Santa Fe ATCT (SAF) was delayed because of the senseless government shutdown," Bray said. "We were able to use this example to educate the congressman and his district staff about the need for stable, predictable funding for the FAA." 

Alternate Southwest Region National Legislative Committee Member Bill Dewey and Fort Worth Center (ZFW) member Jimmy Clouse recently met with Texas Congressman Kenny Marchant at a legislative event, where they represented their NATCA brothers and sisters to our elected officials.

"I was very fortunate to attend on behalf of NATCA," Clouse said. "Bill and I also had the opportunity to speak with Tommy Hicks, Co-Chair of the Republican National Committee, about NATCA's legislative priorities and aviation safety."

Alternate New England Region National Legislative Committee Member and Providence ATCT (PVD) member Juan Ledesma and PVD Legislative Rep Jamie Green met with Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline at a labor community breakfast. 

"We were able to discuss H.R. 1108 with his Chief of Staff Chris Bizzacco," Ledesma said. "After our meeting, we heard back the next day from his office that Congressman Cicilline became a cosponsor of H.R. 1108."

Washington Congressman Rick Larsen stopped by Washington National ATCT (DCA)  as part of his visit with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA). While there, he met with NATCA DCA members Russ Adams and Legislative Rep Christopher Schreiber (pictured above). Adams talked about the facility and the history of the airport, and Schreiber then took the congressman up to the tower. 

The congressman had questions about NextGen as well as the noise impact on the surrounding communities based on runways in use. The conversation included DCA's effect on the National Airspace System and thanking the congressman for his support of H.R. 1108. 

Kansas Congressman Roger Marshall toured Kansas City Center (ZKC) guided by FacRep Todd Mariani, VP Nathan Burch, Kansas State Legislative Coordinator and ZKC Legislative Rep Jami Davis, Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) FacRep Robert Riggs, and Air Traffic Manager Christina Calvert.

The group discussed how the air traffic system works and talked about the staffing issues at ZKC, as well as those throughout the country. "We explained to the congressman that air traffic controllers are experiencing the lowest staffing ever within the past 30 years," said Mariani. "We discussed the impacts that government shutdowns have on the hiring process, and further impacts on students at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City."  

The congressman asked what he could do to help, and we told him that a stable, predictable funding stream is paramount to not only our hiring process, but all programs across the NAS such as CPDLC (Controller Pilot Data Link Communication). We thanked Congressman Marshall for his support in the past and for cosponsoring H.R. 1108. We informed him that Kansas was the first state to have all congressional delegates cosponsor the bill.

Kentucky State Legislative Rep and Greater Cincinnati ATCT (CVG) member John Buonadonna and Lexington ATCT (LEX) Legislative Rep Ellie Bermudez represented NATCA members at an event with Congressman Hal Rogers.

"This event allowed us to get two days of face time with Congressman Rogers and his Chief of Staff," Buonadonna said. "Thanks goes to Ellie, as this was her first congressional event after attending the Legislative Activism Training class in Atlanta last month."

Bermudez is an H.R.5292 Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016 beneficiary, and she thanked the Congressman for his "yes vote" on the bill. Bermudez and Buonadonna invited Rogers and his staff to LEX for a facility visit and they also continued to ask him to cosponsor H.R. 1108.