The U.S. House of Representatives will consider SA2060 during this year’s lame-duck session of Congress, which is an amendment to S.1789 that would reform the United States Postal Service due to its serious financial situation. If approved, this amendment would restrict all federal agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, to attending only one conference during each fiscal year.
By definition, the AEA International Convention & Trade Show and the AEA Regional Meetings would each be considered a conference, along with the AOPA Aviation Summit, EAA AirVenture and the NBAA Convention. So, if the FAA were to send just a single representative to any one of these events, or any single committee meeting or regional meeting associated with these organizations, it could not send any other staff members to any other aviation conference scheduled during the current fiscal year. The outcome would deliver unintended consequences, including the disruption of many direct lines of communication between the FAA and the general aviation industry.
The Postal Service bill (S.1789), including amendment SA2060, has passed the Senate, and is waiting for action in the House of Representatives.
The American Society of Association Executives recently delivered a letter to congressional leaders expressing concerns with the negative impact of SA2060. The ASAE has created an online action alert to help personalize a message to members of Congress. Click here for the action alert.
The AEA urges its members to contact members of Congress and ask them to oppose SA2060 due to its unintended consequences as part of postal service reform. A listing of the members of Congress is available at www.house.gov. To read SA2060, click here.