Biden signs one-week FAA extension via autopen

President Joe Biden on Friday signed a one-week extension for federal aviation programs ahead of a key deadline after the Senate passed the measure Thursday night, the White House announced. The president, who is currently traveling in San Francisco, signed the FAA funding extension using the autopen – a device used for automatic signatures – in order to ensure there was no lapse in funding, a White House official said. The bill was transmitted to the White House Friday afternoon, the official said. The use of the autopen, which was first used by President Barack Obama to sign legislation, has been a rarity in the Biden administration. The White House has gone to great lengths at times to fly physical bills to Biden while he’s traveling abroad, including a $40 billion Ukraine aid package the president signed while in South Korea in 2022 and a 2022 bill to avert a government shutdown while the president was on vacation in St. Croix. The Senate also approved a bipartisan FAA reauthorization bill that renews authority for the agency for the next five years on Thursday night. The House will next need to pass that legislation. That bill would renew authority for the agency for the next five years and aims to improve aviation safety, enhance protections for passengers and airline workers and invest in airport and air travel infrastructure nationwide. The bill would authorize more than $105 billion in funding for the FAA as well as $738m for the National Transportation Safety Board for fiscal years 2024 through 2028.<br/>