A day before the Federal Aviation Administration law expires, the Senate passed a $105 billion bill aimed at improving safety and customer service for air travelers.
The bipartisan bill, which comes after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports, aims to increase the number of air traffic controllers to deal with shortages, improve safety standards and keep passengers safe after flights are delayed or canceled. Easier access to measures such as refunds.
After passing the bill in an 88-4 vote, the Senate passed a one-week extension to ensure the law does not expire before the House takes up the bill next week. The FAA said it would have to furlough about 3,600 employees if the law expires at midnight Friday.
The bill stalled for days this week as Virginia and Maryland senators opposed a provision that would have allowed 10 more flights a day to and from the heavily trafficked Reagan Washington National Airport. Other senators also tried to add unrelated provisions, seeing it as a perfect opportunity to implement their legislative priorities.
But Senate Majority Leader Schumer called for a vote Thursday night as it became clear senators would be unable to agree on amendments to the bill before the law expires. The Senate then approved the one-week extension that the House had already passed and sent it to President Joe Biden’s desk.
The FAA has been under intense scrutiny since it approved Boeing planes involved in two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. safety standard.
Maria Cantwell, chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Committee in Washington state, said the bill “provides the FAA with the stability it needs to fulfill its primary mission of improving aviation safety while also making travel more convenient and accessible.”
The legislation seeks to increase the number of air traffic controllers, place more safety inspectors at manufacturing facilities and require the FAA to use new technology designed to prevent aircraft collisions on runways. It will require new airline planes to be equipped with cockpit voice recorders capable of saving 25 hours of audio, up from the current two hours, to help investigators after a security incident.
It will try to improve customer service for passengers by requiring airlines to refund passengers whose flights are delayed – three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights. Lawmakers this week tweaked the bill to make it easier for customers to get refunds and changed language that would have put customers on the hook for the bulk of refund requests. The change brings the Senate bill more in line with new rules issued by the Biden administration last week.
Additionally, the bill would prohibit airlines from charging extra fees for families to sit together and impose fines of up to three times the maximum amount on airlines that violate consumer laws. It also requires the Transportation Department to create a “dashboard” so consumers can compare seat sizes on different airlines.
The bill would also improve accessibility for passengers with disabilities, require airlines to meet seating requirements for disability-related needs, establish new training standards for airline personnel handling and storing wheelchairs, and provide grants for airport accessibility upgrades.
The popular bipartisan bill’s failure to pass by May 10 would be the latest setback after months of delays in the measure, and the last-minute deal is a major step forward in Congress’ efforts to pass it with broad bipartisan support. The latest example of legislation.
Schumer, who had urged lawmakers to drop their objections and reach agreement on the legislation, said after the bill passed that “passing this FAA bill is the best thing Congress can do to give Americans the peace of mind they deserve.” “
Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats, had pushed for a vote on their amendment to block additional long-haul flights from Virginia’s Reagan National Airport. They said the airport was limited and already too busy, pointing to a near collision between two planes in early April that they described as a “flashing red warning light.”
Several Western lawmakers have advocated for more flights at airports, saying restrictions on long-haul flights are unfair to consumers. A major backer of the provision is Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee who is up for re-election this year and who believes San Antonio should have direct flights from the airport. When Schumer tried to introduce an amendment shortly before final passage, Cruz blocked a vote on the Kaine and Warner amendments.
Like lawmakers, airlines are divided over the idea of adding flights to Reagan National. Delta Air Lines has advocated for more flights, while United Airlines, whose main operations are based at distant Dulles Airport, has lobbied against more flights.
Last year, after intense lobbying by the Virginia delegation, the House passed its own version of FAA legislation without increasing Reagan National flights — a bipartisan vote on an amendment to the FAA bill, where members were not Adjust not by party but by geography. Lawmakers frequently use the airport because it is the closest Washington airport to the Capitol, and Congress has long sought to have a say in routes serving there.
“Some of our colleagues are too scared to let the experts make decisions,” Kaine and Warner said in a joint statement Thursday night after Cruz blocked a vote on their amendment. “They don’t want to ask questions from experts.” The American people have shown that they care more about the desire of a few lawmakers for direct flights than they do about the safety and convenience of the traveling public. This is shameful and embarrassing.
Kaine, Warner and two Maryland senators, Democrats Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, were the only four senators to vote against final passage.
