Virginia Senators Tim Kaine (D) and Mark Warner (D) state that they will not approve a quick approval of the one-week extension of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act unless their fellow senators agree to have a vote on their proposal to remove a provision for adding five new round-trip flights to Reagan National Airport.
The senators claim that extending the FAA reauthorization by one week will only give Senate leaders enough time to use procedural tactics to pass the bill next week without allowing any changes.
They aim to apply more pressure on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to reach an agreement to allow a vote on their proposal before the FAA reauthorization ends this Friday.
If the Senate approves the one-week temporary solution passed by the House on Wednesday, then leaders might wait until sometime next week to pass the longer-term bill and feel less pressure to set up votes on amendments.
Kaine and Warner, who work closely with Maryland Senators Chris Van Hollen (D) and Ben Cardin (D), argue that adding five new round-trip flights — five inbound and five outbound — will further strain Washington’s local airport and create safety risks.
Kaine has repeatedly addressed the Senate about the near collision between a JetBlue flight and a Southwest Airlines flight in April.
“Last month’s near miss at DCA is a flashing red warning light that this airport is overburdened and that cramming more flights onto the busiest runway in America is a terrible idea,” Kaine and Warner said in a joint statement.
The senators expressed their frustration that neither they nor their colleagues from Maryland had the opportunity to shape the bill when it was being created in the Senate Commerce Committee.
“But now, the same senators who crafted a provision in the FAA bill to do just that, behind closed doors and against the advice of all four capital region senators, are asking us to smooth a procedural path to the finish line for that bill without a promise to bring our amendment—or any amendment—up for a vote,” Kaine and Warner said.
“We can’t in good conscience greenlight that plan until we have a commitment that there will be an opportunity to put our amendment to a vote, and to persuade our colleagues to prioritize the safety of millions of passengers over a few senators’ desire for a direct flight home,” they said.
