Based in Washington, Jen manages Aviation Week’s worldwide defense, space and security coverage.
Prior to taking on her current role, Jen was Aviation Week's Congressional Editor. Jen came to Aviation Week in March 2011 from Politico, where she covered the intersection of defense and politics. She also worked as a reporter and editor for Defense Daily, Inside the Army, The Other Paper and The Columbus Dispatch.
Jen received a Master’s degree in journalism as a Kiplinger Fellow at the Ohio State University. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in history and journalism from the University of Michigan.
The Senate Appropriations Committee last week approved a fiscal 2012 FAA budget that would provide 19% less funding than similar legislation proposed two years earlier. Still, it fully funds the FAA’s Next Generation air traffic modernization program and increases funding for FAA operations. The bill seeks to provide $3.5 billion in Airport Improvement Program funding. That amount is more than the $3.35 billion recommended by the Senate committee’s House of Representatives counterpart. By contrast, President Obama had asked for just $2.4 billion.
The White House is proposing new, tougher lobbying rules that might outlaw government employees from attending trade shows for free. Taking office in 2009 on the heels of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, President Obama restricted gifts from lobbyists to political appointees. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) from the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) extends those restrictions to all federal employees and tightens the definitions of what events they can attend on a lobbyist’s dime.
The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday approved the fiscal 2012 transportation, housing and urban development appropriations bill that will fund the FAA in fiscal 2012 as a freshman senator issued a warning about the current strategy for passing spending bills. The bill’s aviation-related portions remained largely unchanged from Tuesday’s subcommittee markup, in which senators agreed to fully fund the Next Generation air traffic management system and provide $3.5 billion for the Airport Improvement Program.
