WASHINGTON – After hours of uncertainty, the U.S. Senate reached a deal Thursday to reauthorize several Federal Aviation Authority programs for the next five years, despite vehement opposition from senators from Maryland and Virginia and lawmakers hoping to do so. adding unrelated provisions failed.
The bill will go to the House of Representatives next week for final approval. Lawmakers in the House of Commons walked out of Parliament on Wednesday after agreeing to a one-week extension of the FAA programs, which expire on Friday evening. The Senate also approved the extension.
The tardy night vote, 88-4, faced opposition from Democratic senators representing Maryland and Virginia. They opposed speedier passage of the bill because of objections to a provision that would allow more flights to and from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, located just across the Virginia border from Washington, D.C
In a joint statement after the vote, Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia said the Senate had “shirked its responsibility to protect the safety of the 25 million people” who fly through Reagan Airport, known as DCA, annually.
The airport is a favorite of lawmakers because it is closest to the Capitol restricted by federal regulation on the number of “slots” or flights that can take off and land per day.
“Just weeks after two planes nearly collided at DCA, this panel refused to adopt our common-sense amendment to delete a dangerous provision that would have resulted in more flights being squeezed onto the busiest runway in America,” it says the statement by Kaine and Warner. refers to a near miss on April 18 when two aircraft were cleared to take off came only 120 meters away from the crash.
Virginia senators and Maryland senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen held out for hours Thursday as they negotiated a vote on an amendment to delete or tighten a provision that would limit slots at DCA to five more landings and five more would boost launches.
“Over 200 member priorities”
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) agreed to introduce what senators called a “compromise” amendment Thursday night. The amendment proposed leaving the final say on slots to the transport minister after considering delays and safety.
But Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, one of the bill’s administrators, objected, saying the bill already “includes over 200 member priorities.”
Cruz, ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, managed the bill with the committee’s chairwoman, Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington.
Cruz is a proponent of increasing slots at DCA, particularly for a direct flight from San Antonio.
Others also support the boost: Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia originally proposed adding 28 fresh slots per day. That idea was scrapped and replaced with Cruz’s amendment, which allowed five fresh daily round-trip flights.
On the Floor On Thursday evening, Cruz dismissed the safety argument, saying that “FAA experts recently made it clear that this near miss (on April 18) had absolutely nothing to do with runway traffic.” He also lobbied for the opposition of United Airlines, which operates a huge hub at Dulles International Airport in Virginia and wants to leisurely down competition.
Cruz said the final bill addresses safety issues by “ensuring we have enough air traffic controllers to monitor traffic and ensure safety.”
Late Thursday night after the bill’s passage, Cantwell took the floor and praised provisions she said would expand the aviation workforce, improve pilot training and protect consumers.
Among its many provisions is the approximate one 1,000-page legislation:
- Directs the FAA to boost hiring targets for air traffic controllers;
- Raises the retirement age for commercial pilots from 65 to 67;
- Prohibits mask-wearing and COVID-19 vaccination guidelines for passengers or employees;
- Directs the FAA to update drone testing and operation rules;
- Requires the Department of Transportation to establish a seating arrangement that allows children to sit next to parents or guardians at no additional charge; And
- Requires airlines to automatically refund customers after three hours of delays on domestic flights and six hours on international flights.
“These legal rights are a huge win for consumers,” Cantwell said.
Last flight from the airport
Many lawmakers see the FAA reauthorization bill as the last major vehicle to tie their priorities to before the November elections and the end of the 118th Congress.
That possibility disappeared on Thursday when those responsible for the legislation decided against allowing non-German amendments to the bill.
Among the proposals lawmakers were eyeing as additions was Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden’s bipartisan tax bill, which would expand the child tax credit and revive tax breaks for businesses. Another example was Senator Josh Hawley’s Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which would reauthorize a fund for radiation exposure victims in the United States. The fund expires on June 7th.
Hawley said Thursday afternoon that he would not object to the FAA bill even if RECA was not added.
“I have no desire to block FAA reauthorization,” Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, told reporters outside the Senate chamber. “I think we should have a reasonable process. But if we don’t do it, we won’t do it.”
“At least through this offer we got automatic refunds for consumers, which was good,” Hawley added, referring to his offer the change with Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, to which the senators agreed Tuesday.
Jacob Fischler contributed to this report.
