Virginia senators vow to delay FAA extension without vote on Reagan flights

Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine (D) and Mark Warner (D) say they won’t agree to fast-track a one-week extension of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act unless colleagues commit to holding a vote on their amendment to eliminate a provision to add five new round-trip flights to Reagan Washington National Airport.

The senators argue that passing a one-week extension of the FAA reauthorization will only give Senate leaders enough time to run out the procedural clock on the Senate floor to pass the bill next week without allowing any amendments.

They want to put more pressure on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) to come up with an agreement to allow a vote on their amendment before the FAA reauthorization expires Friday.

If the Senate passes the one-week stopgap approved Wednesday by the House, then leaders could wait until sometime next week to pass the longer-term bill and feel less pressure to set up amendment votes.

Kaine and Warner, who are allied with Maryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D) and Ben Cardin (D), argue that adding five new round-trip flights — five inbound and five outbound — will further overburden Washington’s local airport and create safety hazards.

Kaine has repeatedly spoken on the Senate floor about the near collision between a JetBlue plane and a Southwest Airlines plane 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 have had the chance to shape the bill when it was being crafted 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.