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The US Capitol dome is seen on April 18, 2024 in Washington, DC.
CNN
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The fate of a major federal aviation bill remains uncertain in the Senate as a key end-of-week deadline looms.
The Senate is working to advance a five-year Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill ahead of a Friday deadline, but while there is broad bipartisan support for the legislation, there have been disputes over some key provisions.
The House passed a one-week extension on Wednesday to allow for more time to pass the bill, but there have been threats of a holdup in the Senate over even that one-week stopgap. There is some optimism, however, that senators could reach some kind of breakthrough before the end of the week to prevent a lapse.
“Everybody’s being told to stay around because we might be able to get this done,” Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine told reporters.
One of the sticking points in the debate is over flights at the Reagan National Airport just outside Washington, DC. A group of Washington-area Senate Democrats who oppose adding more longer-distance flights in and out of the airport are pressing for an amendment vote to strip it out of the larger package currently being debated.
Two of those senators, Kaine and Mark Warner, also of Virginia, said Thursday morning that they would object to fast-tracking a vote on the stopgap bill unless they are promised an amendment vote. They cited a close call at Reagan National last month in which two jetliners almost collided after they were cleared onto the same runway.
There are signs, however, that the four Democratic senators from Maryland and Virginia, who have so far been stymied in their efforts to get a vote on an amendment to eliminate five new flights into and out of the airport, are changing tactics.
Kaine, Warner, Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Sen. Ben Cardin filed a fresh amendment Thursday that would empower the Transportation Department to study whether the new flights can be added safely and not cause more congestion and delays at DCA.
“It would have to have a secretary of transportation sign off, only if it can be done without inconveniencing passengers or hurting safety,” Kaine said, adding that the original amendment he filed is the one he the likes best because it says, “No additional flights.”
Reiterating how he would object to passing a one-week extension of FAA without a vote on the slots question, Kaine said, “We gotta get a guarantee that we’re going to get a vote, because otherwise they could run out the clock on us and not allow any amendments.”
Right now, there are still objections on both sides to all of the proposals on amendments.
Walking out of the Democratic lunch, Kaine said that while no decisions were made on his amendments, negotiations are ongoing.
Kaine said of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, “He was optimistic that we can finish today.”
Lawmakers have been trying to pass a comprehensive Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, which would guide aviation policy for the next five years and includes a plan to fill a shortfall of 3,000 air traffic controllers, prevent planes from colliding on runways and set policies for airline refunds.
The more than 1,000-page legislation is ultimately expected to pass with bipartisan support even as the timing for final passage remains in limbo.
CNN’s Shania Shelton, Haley Talbot and Kristin Wilson contributed to this report.
