2 weeks Ago By Rytis Beresnevičius
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a notice to stakeholders potentially seeking grants from the Federal government in fiscal year 2025 and beyond, with the notice affecting communities seeking Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds. The notice, when finalized, would remove five executive orders (EOs), three of which were signed by Joe Biden, the former President of the United States, and add five EOs signed by Trump, including the removal of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs from the Federal government. Changing Airport Grant Assurances In a notice published on April 25, the FAA said that it proposed updates to the AIP grant assurances, reflecting recent legislative provisions in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 and the recently issued EOs.
Stakeholders, potentially affected by the changes, can submit comments about the proposals until May 9. The regulator highlighted that an applicant seeking financial assistance in the form of an AIP grant for airport planning, development, noise compatibility planning, or noise mitigation under a specific provision of the United States Code (USC), or an airport development grant under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), signed into law by Biden in November 2021, “ must agree to comply with certain assurances.” “These grant assurances are incorporated in and become part of a sponsor's grant agreement for Federal financial assistance.
As need dictates, the FAA modifies these assurances to reflect new Federal requirements.” DEI, Equal Employment, Discrimination, And Climate Change Orders As pointed out by the FAA’s notice, it is proposing five changes to the grant assurances, affecting grants issued during the fiscal year of 2025 and beyond, including the removal of five EOs, three of which were signed into law by Biden. The first EO that was removed was the ‘Equal Employment Opportunity’ order, which was signed by Lyndon Johnson, the former President of the US, in 1965, ensuring that there are equal employment opportunities “for qualified persons” in the Federal government, prohibiting discrimination based on race, creed, color, or national origin.
The second, ‘To Address Environmental Justice In Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations,’ signed by Bill Clinton, directing Federal agencies to make achieving “environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations.” The three Biden EOs, namely ‘Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,’ ‘Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation,’ and ‘Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,’ addressed equity opportunities for marginalized communities, discrimination based on gender and/or orientation, and climate change in the US and abroad with the US leading the international community to address the climate crisis. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a branch of the DOT, still does not have an Administrator or a Deputy Administrator.
“Do They Want To Get In Line, Or Do They Want Cash For Projects?” The five EOs, which were coincidentally signed by Democratic Presidents, were replaced by five orders signed by Trump in January, on the day or a few days after his inauguration. This includes EOs titled ‘Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship,’ ‘Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,’ ‘Unleashing American Energy,’ ‘Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,’ and ‘Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.’ Speaking to Fox News, Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation, who reshared the segment on his X, formerly known as Twitter, profile, questioned why states that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has been deporting people without any due process, if states have DEI policies, which, according to Duffy, are discriminatory against a particular class of people, should receive federal funds on their infrastructure projects.
If these states do not comply, the Federal government, including the Department of Transportation (DOT), the parent agency of the FAA, “will not approve their grants,” Duffy added, concluding the segment by rhetorically asking his former Fox News colleagues, “Do [states] want to get in line, or do they want cash for [their] projects?”.
