The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 is a federal spending bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2026 that funds government operations through September 30, 2026. It covers multiple areas including defense, labor, health, education, homeland security, and transportation. This document does not contain content specifically related to Sea-Tac Airport noise policy.

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A consolidated appropriations bill for fiscal year 2026 introduced by Mr. Cole in the House of Representatives. The bill includes six divisions covering Department of Defense, Labor/Health/Human Services/Education, Homeland Security, Transportation/Housing/Urban Development, authorizing extenders, and health care extenders.

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As the source for federal transportation grants, the Puget Sound Regional Council was charged with developing a system to meet the growing need for commercial aviation. When the search for a second airport failed, they authorized the Port of Seattle to build the Third Runway, with a mandate to develop a noise abatement and mitigation program. In their effort to stop the Third Runway, the ACC argued over every detail of the Port's efforts--including property buyouts and sound insulation. The dispute was meant to be settled by a three member Expert Arbitration Panel. This is their final report. It finds 2-1, that the Port's program was insufficient in several respects. Despite that, funding for the Third Runway was approved by the PSRC, and the 'Port Package' program, proceeded largely unchanged. Expert Arbitration Panel's final decision finding that the Port of Seattle had not shown sufficient reduction in real on-the-ground noise impacts to satisfy noise reduction conditions required for approval of a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport. The majority decision concluded the Port's noise abatement programs were insufficient despite being impressive in scope.

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