Reconciliation is a process under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) that allows Congress to implement budget priorities affecting direct spending, revenues, and the debt limit using expedited procedures. The principal benefit to using reconciliation is that a reconciliation bill cannot be filibustered in the Senate. As a result, it takes only a simple
A Crystal Ball On Economic Stimulus
Starting with COVID-19 relief, both former Vice President Biden and President Trump have embraced the need for another COVID-19 economic stimulus package.
A Biden administration would likely pursue “high-multiplier” policies that funnel money to people and businesses that need it and are likely to spend it, thereby helping funds circulate through the economy quickly to
Federal Aviation Administration Finalizes Small Unmanned Aircraft Rule
On Tuesday, June 21, 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) finalized its long-awaited rule on the commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS” or “drones”). The rule is significant because it provides a comprehensive and generally applicable set of rules for anyone wishing to operate a small drone for commercial purposes.
Before the adoption
Looking Forward After the FAA’s Drone Registration Regulation
On December 14, 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a significant regulation that requires all owners of small unmanned aircraft systems – between 0.55 and 55 pounds – to register with the agency.
News outlets have good summaries of the rules, so we only recap them here. An individual who owns a drone before December
FAA’s Proposed Drone Rules
This past weekend the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) took the first steps to allow the routine use of certain small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for commercial purposes in U.S. airspace. In taking this highly anticipated action, the FAA released a proposed rule, an overview of the proposed rule, a fact sheet and a press
House Committee Turns Up Heat on FAA in UAS Hearing
Members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure pushed the FAA on Wednesday, December 10, to accelerate integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into U.S. airspace, expressing concern that regulators in other countries are ahead of the FAA in permitting safe UAS use, setting back economic development in the United States.
But these same
Congress Must Deal With the Highway Trust Fund
When Congress returns this week from the July 4th recess, it will once again find itself grappling with legislation to replenish the Highway Trust Fund, which is fast running out of money. Congress must act by the end of July to keep the Trust Fund solvent. If it doesn’t, the U.S. Department of Transportation will
A Proposal to Resuscitate Highway Funding
House Republican leaders, Boehner, Cantor, and McCarthy have a proposal to address the Highway Trust Fund’s desperate funding problems and the reauthorization of MAP-21, which is set to expire on September 30, 2014.
As discussed in an earlier post, one of the biggest challenges facing Congress in the MAP-21 reauthorization process is what to
The Exploding Use of Drones
The potential for drones, i.e., unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”), is tremendous. After years of being associated with military operations, the civilian UAS market is expected to dramatically expand in the United States in the next ten years. A multitude of conceivable applications for UAS — including mapping, weather forecasting, law enforcement, news gathering, real
Critical Time for the Highway Trust Fund
One of the biggest challenges facing Congress in the reauthorization process is what to do about the fiscal condition of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) which supports funding of the federal highway and transit programs. Simply stated, the HTF is on the verge of insolvency. It has both a short term and long term problem.