US: House fails to pass FAA extension, hurricane tax relief

The US House of Representatives on Monday failed to approve a bill to allow the FAA to continue to operate and a package of tax relief bills to aid hurricane victims after ranking Democrats objected. Authorization for the FAA is set to expire on Saturday. The bill would have extended the agency for another six months as Congress debates whether to privatize the country’s air traffic control system and considers new airline passenger protections. The bill, which was considered under fast-track rules that require two-thirds of members to support it, failed on a 245 to 171 margin. House Democratic leaders on Monday had urged their colleagues to oppose the measure, citing Republican’s decision to only extend some healthcare programs and refusing to allow immigration legislation. “Democrats support reauthorization of the FAA, which is long overdue as a result of Republicans’ failure to craft a bill that can obtain bipartisan majority support,” the statement said. “It is outrageous that the majority is hijacking the must-pass FAA bill as a vehicle for its pet priorities.” President Donald Trump in March proposed handing over control of US air traffic control to a privately-operated board, but has faced resistance among Democrats and owners of private planes. Major U.S. carriers, including American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways, all back the privatization proposal.<br/>