SARASOTA, Fla. — It’s no surprise to frequent travelers, but there are many issues facing the aviation industry, from outdated technology to frequent delays and staff shortages. The same issues are at the top of lawmakers’ minds, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson, who flew into Sarasota on Monday.
Johnson was in town alongside Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Bradenton) for his first major fundraiser since being elected to his leadership post. However, the Republicans first made a stop to tour ongoing construction at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ).
While standing in the construction site of the soon-to-be expanded terminal, Johnson stressed the importance of Congress finalizing a bill that impacts just about every aspect of air travel, the reauthorization of funding for the Federal Aviation Administration.
“That is the main federal law governing the air travel and aviation policy for the whole country,” Johnson said.
“America is the gold standard in aviation safety and innovation. But the FAA needs reforms, it needs investment and stability to continue that legacy,” he added.
His stop comes several months after the House passed five-year funding for the agency. The bill also aims to make trips to the airport more efficient for flyers and bolster dwindling workforces, especially among pilots.
The U.S. Senate has not taken action on the bill and the House has since passed stopgap funding for the agency.
“Our bill also streamlines the FAA in Washington and invests in our airport infrastructure through the airport improvement program and it cuts down on red tape that makes it hard to build new airports and projects like the one that we're witnessing [at SRQ],” Johnson said.
Johnson toured the construction of the $100 million + expansion — some of the funding came by way of the Infrastructure Act, which he voted against.
The Florida Democratic Party called his tour a “charade.”
“We welcome his sightseeing tour of Sarasota airport, which was just expanded thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but he’s really here for a fundraiser to use our state as an ATM while doing nothing to solve the real problems Floridians are facing," Florida Democratic Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement.
The work in Sarasota is being done to keep up with the growing demand in passengers, and the need for a revamp seen in many American cities.
Like the construction workers, the speaker says lawmakers are getting to work post-holiday “rolling up their sleeves,” and he’s optimistic deals will get done to prevent a potential shutdown.
“Everybody in Congress understands the importance of their airport, and how much it drives both their local economy and their ability to get around the world,” SRQ President and CEO Rick Piccolo said. “Airports are not as controversial as other social issues. It's more an economic issue, and that's one that we hope will resonate with Congress and get [FAA funding] settled."
The terminal expansion at SRQ is slated to be complete by December 2024.
While on his stop, Johnson also took questions related to U.S. aid for Israel and Ukraine.
Johnson called supporting Israel a top priority for the United States.
“Supporting our ally there is critical, it's one of the first things we did in fact, we passed the bipartisan Israel support package out of the house a while ago,” he said. “We have some negotiations that are going on in earnest.”
On Ukraine, Johnson said “Of course, we can't allow Vladimir Putin to march through Europe. And we understand the necessity of assisting there.”
“What we've said is that if there is to be additional assistance to Ukraine, which most members of our Congress believe is important, we have to also work in changing our own border policy. And so there's been a lot of thoughtful negotiation ongoing,” he added.