The Senate has approved a $105 billion bill designed to improve airline safety and customer service for air travelers, a day before the law governing the Federal Aviation Administration expires.
The bipartisanship bill, which comes after a series of closed calls between planes at the nation's airports, it would increase the number of air traffic controllers, improve safety standards and make it easier for customers to get refunds after delayed or canceled flights.
It passed the Senate 88-4. The bill now goes to the House, which is out of session until next week. The Senate also approved a one-week extension that would give the House time to pass the bill while ensuring the FAA is not forced to lay off about 3,600 employees.
The bill stalled for several days this week after senators from Virginia and Maryland opposed a provision that would have allowed 10 additional flights a day there from Washington's busy Ronald Reagan National Airport. Other senators have also sought to add unrelated provisions, seeing it as a prime opportunity to enact their legislative priorities.
But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called a vote Thursday evening after it became clear senators would be unable to agree on amendments to the bill before it expires. After the bill passed, leaders from both parties worked out how to pass an extension and ensure the law doesn't expire on Friday. The House approved a one-week extension earlier this week.
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The FAA has been under scrutiny as it approved Boeing planes that were involved in two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. The Senate legislation would govern FAA operations for the next five years and establish several new safety standards.
What's on the bill?
The bill would increase the number of air traffic controllers and require the FAA to use new technology designed to prevent collisions between planes on runways. New airline planes would be required to have cabin voice recorders capable of saving 25 hours of audio, up from the current two hours, to help investigators.
It would also seek to improve customer service for flyers by requiring airlines to reimburse customers for flight delays: three hours for a domestic flight and six for an international flight. Lawmakers amended the bill this week to make it even easier for customers to receive refunds, revising language that would have made most of the responsibility on the customer to request them. The change brought the Senate bill more in line with new regulations issued by President Biden's administration last week.
In addition, the bill would prohibit airlines from charging more for families to sit together and triple the maximum fines for airlines that violate consumer laws. And it would require the Transportation Department to create a “dashboard” so consumers can compare seat sizes on different airlines.
The FAA had said that if the law expired Friday, all 3,600 employees would be furloughed without guarantee of back pay starting at midnight. The agency also would not be able to collect the daily airport fees that help pay for operations, and ongoing improvements to the airport would be halted.
No one in “safety-critical” positions, such as air traffic controllers, would be affected if the deadline is not met, the FAA said, and the safety of the flying public would not be at risk.
Still, the failure to pass the popular bipartisan bill on May 10 marked the latest setback after months of delays on the measure, and another example of Congress's struggle to pass major legislation until and all when it has broad support.
Opening the Senate Thursday, Schumer urged senators to reach a deal soon.
“Absolutely no one should want us to go past the deadline because that would unnecessarily increase the risks for so many travelers and so many federal workers,” he said.
Which caused its delay in the Senate
Virginia Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats, had pushed for a vote on their amendment to block additional long-haul flights at Virginia's Reagan National. They say the airport is limited in size and already too busy, pointing to a close call between two planes in early April that they said is a “flashing red warning light.”
Several Western lawmakers have advocated for more airport flights, saying it is unfair to consumers that there is a restriction on long-haul flights. The main proponent of the provision is Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, who has argued that San Antonio should have a direct flight from the airport. Cruz blocked a vote on Kaine and Warner's amendment when Schumer tried to introduce it shortly before final approval.
Airlines are also divided on the idea of additional flights at Reagan National. Delta Airlines has advocated for more flights, while United Airlines, with a major operation at the more distant Dulles Airport, has pushed against the increase.
The House passed its own version of FAA legislation last year without additional Reagan National flights after intense last-minute lobbying by Virginia's delegation — a bipartisan vote on an amendment to the bill of the FAA that saw members align not by party but by geographic location.
Lawmakers use the airport frequently, as it is Washington's closest airport to the Capitol, and Congress has long sought to have a say in which routes serve it.
“Some of our colleagues were too afraid to let the experts make the call,” Kaine and Warner said in a statement Thursday evening. “They didn't want to show the American people that they care more about a few lawmakers' desire for direct flights than they care about the safety and comfort of the traveling public. This is shameful and an embarrassment.”
