U.S. House approves 5-year reauthorization of Federal Aviation Administration

WASHINGTON, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved 5-year reauthorization of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after two recent short-term funding patches.

The legislation, voted with 393 in favor and 13 against, provides the FAA with funding through the 2023 fiscal year.

Under the bill, about 3.35 billion dollars per year through 2023 would go to infrastructure, and an additional one billion dollars would be authorized for an amendment proposed by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster that would create a report on the agency's Next Generation Air Transportation System to evaluate air traffic control technology, said a CNN report.

The bill also includes a disaster relief provision aimed to help improve infrastructure and preparation to handle natural disasters and a bipartisan amendment seeking to refine regulations on meals and rest periods for truckers.

"Today's vote is a key step in making sure the interstate supply chain continues to run safely and efficiently and without a hodgepodge of confusing and duplicative state rules." Dave Manning, the chairman of the American Trucking Association, was quoted by a TheHill news daily report as saying, referring to the bipartisan amendment on truckers. Enditem