The Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization legislation, H.R. 658 (P.L. 112-095), the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (PDF), enacted on February 14, 2012 authorized appropriations to the FAA from Fiscal Year 2012 through Fiscal Year 2015. The legislation also seeks to improve aviation safety and capacity of the national airspace system, provide a framework for integrating new technology safely into our airspace, provide a stable funding system, and advance the implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).
H.R.636 (P.L. 114-190), the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 (PDF) extended FAA's authority and funding through September 2017. It also included some important safety and security additions including: the development of a cybersecurity framework to reduce cybersecurity risks to the national airspace system, a pilot project to detect and mitigate unauthorized operation of unmanned aircraft around airports and other critical infrastructure, as well as changes to the hiring process for air traffic controllers.
Since October 1, 2017, FAA has operated under two short-term extensions of FAA's legislative authority: H.R.3823 (P.L. 115-63), the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017 (PDF), extended FAA's funding and authorities through March 31, 2018; and H.R. 1625 (P.L. 115-141), the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (PDF), further extended FAA's funding and authority through September 30, 2018.