The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009
Record date · June 1, 2009
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What This Bill Would Do
This bill authorizes funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from 2009 through 2012 to improve aviation safety, modernize air traffic control systems, and enhance consumer protections. It establishes new requirements for emergency contingency plans, increases passenger facility charges, and mandates research into new aviation technologies.
This legislation dictates the multi-billion dollar budget for national aviation infrastructure and sets new legal standards for airline passenger rights, including requirements for emergency deplaning and prohibitions on in-flight mobile voice communications.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Air carriers
Must comply with new passenger service requirements, reporting mandates, and training standards.
Airport operators
Required to submit emergency contingency plans and may adjust passenger facility charges.
FAA employees
Subject to new staffing models, training requirements, and oversight procedures.
Air passengers
Subject to new rules regarding mobile device usage and potential changes to passenger facility charges.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I be able to use my cell phone for voice calls on a plane?
What happens if my flight is stuck on the tarmac for a long time?
How does this bill affect airport fees?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently filed. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Committee.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Shift in Customer Service Philosophy
The bill mandates a shift in FAA policy to stop referring to regulated air carriers as 'customers,' emphasizing that the only true customers are the traveling public.
Sources
www.congress.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance95How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment20Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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