The FAA says that if the law expires Friday, the 3,600 employees would be furloughed without a guarantee of back pay starting at midnight. The agency would also be unable to collect daily airport f…
File photo: The legislation now goes to the House, which is out of session until next week. The Senate also passed a one-week extension that would give the House time to pass the bill while ensuring the FAA isn’t forced to furlough around 3,600 employees.WASHINGTON — The Senate has passed a $105 billion bill designed to improve air safety and customer service for air travelers, a day before the law governing the Federal Aviation Administration expires.
The bill stalled for several days this week after senators from Virginia and Maryland objected to a provision that would allow an additional 10 flights a day to and from the heavily trafficked Reagan Washington National Airport. Other senators have tried to add unrelated provisions, as well, seeing it as a prime chance to enact their legislative priorities.
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. It would require new airline planes to have cockpit voice recorders capable of saving 25 hours of audio, up from the current two hours, to help investigators.
The FAA says that if the law expires Friday, the 3,600 employees would be furloughed without a guarantee of back pay starting at midnight. The agency would also be unable to collect daily airport fees that help pay for operations, and ongoing airport improvements would come to a halt. Opening the Senate on Thursday, Schumer urged senators to come to an agreement soon. “Absolutely nobody should want us to slip past the deadline because that would needlessly increase risks for so many travelers and so many federal workers,” he said.Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats, had pushed for a vote on their amendment to block the additional long-haul flights at Virginia’s Reagan National.
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