FederalDaily - September 25, 2007

NATCA Applauds FAA Reauthorization Bill

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) applauded House passage of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill, which includes language that would force the agency back to the bargaining table with NATCA. House members approved the measure, H.R. 2881, on Sept. 20 by a vote of 267-151. The House “vote gives us hope that we can get back to the table and work out a voluntary, ratifiable agreement with the FAA and stop the hemorrhaging of our workforce due to what the FAA’s imposed work rules have wrought,” NATCA President Patrick Forrey said. “A contract is the only way that veteran controllers will stay on the job.” At issue are pay and work rules that FAA imposed on controllers last year after declaring an impasse on contract talks. The House measure also would eliminate a provision in the 1996 FAA reauthorization bill that allows the agency to impose the terms of its last contract offer 60 days after a deadlock is declared. To see more go to: www.natca.org/mediacenter/press-release-detail.aspx?i

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FDA Reauthorization Bill Sent to President

Lawmakers sent to President Bush a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reauthorization bill that would revamp the FDA user fee program and help avoid layoffs for about 2,000 agency workers. If the bill is not signed by Bush this week, FDA on Sept. 30 will have to begin to issue dismissal notices, National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen Kelley said on Sept. 21. The compromise bill (H.R. 3580) would expand FDA oversight of prescription drug safety and reauthorize the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), which expires on Sept. 30. The reauthorized PDUFA program “will lift from 2,000 FDA employees the potential threat of possible furlough or reduction in force,” Kelley said. “The efforts of these employees are a key factor in the safety of vital medications and medical devices, and it is imperative that their work continue without interruption.” Under the bill, user fees that drug companies pay to FDA to speed approval times would increase about 25 percent, to $400 million. User fees paid by medical device makers also would increase. To see more go to: www.nteu.org

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CBP Launches Fourth Northern Border Air Branch

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 22 officially opened the North Dakota Air Branch at the Grand Forks International Airport as part of a CBP northern border security strategy. The North Dakota branch is the fourth of five planned new facilities to augment CBP’s northern border capabilities with air and marine law enforcement, surveillance and airspace security, said Jayson Ahern, CBP deputy commissioner. At full capacity, the Air Branch will consist of up to 50 air interdiction agents (pilots), air enforcement agents and mission support personnel, Ahern said. In 2004, the Department of Homeland Security began the creation of a Northern Border Air Wing to replicate the air and marine border strategy used at the southern border. To see more go to: www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/09212007_8.xml

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