Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) voted to pass the bipartisan 2024 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization to support Nevada’s air infrastructure, strengthen safety standards, enhance consumer protections, and increase U.S. competitiveness in aviation technology and innovation. The legislation also includes Cortez Masto’s bipartisan bill to crack down on human trafficking at U.S. airports. The bill now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives to be passed into law.
“This critical legislation will support our vibrant travel and tourism economy, expand consumer protections for fliers, and make critical investments in airports across the Silver State,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “I made sure this package also includes my bipartisan provision to help airports combat human trafficking and protect survivors. I look forward to this bill being signed into law as soon as possible.”
The FAA bill funds key programs to keep Americans safe and spur the U.S. aviation industry. It includes major upgrades to boost the hiring and training of air traffic controllers, funding to modernize airport infrastructure and technology, and new provisions to ensure travelers can more easily access refunds when flights are cancelled or delayed. It includes measures pushed by Cortez Masto to extend Nevada’s FAA drone test sites, stabilize funding for medium-sized airports including Reno-Tahoe Airport, and better protect airports and public gatherings from aerial incursions.
Cortez Masto’s Reduce Human Trafficking through Transportation Act was also included in the bill to provide grant funding to combat human trafficking at airports. Nevada airports have taken important steps to assist trafficking victims, including through the installation of a human trafficking hotline number on the door of bathroom stalls in airports and providing outreach for youth who need help escaping abuse or trafficking. This legislation will help expand these efforts in Nevada and nationwide.
Senator Cortez Masto delivered funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support airport improvement projects across Nevada, including awards of $7 million for Reno-Tahoe International Airport and $31 million for Harry Reid International Airport terminal improvements. She secured more than $155 million in the American Rescue Plan to help the recovery of Nevada’s airports after pushing the administration to do more to support Nevada’s airports, airport concessions small businesses, and airline workers enduring direct losses due to the pandemic. In 2018, she passed her GREEN Vehicles at Airports Act to ensure airports could use FAA program funding to purchase and support zero-emissions vehicles.
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