Fate of federal aviation bill still uncertain in Senate as key deadline looms

The fate of a major federal aviation bill remains uncertain in the Senate as a key end-of-week deadline looms.

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.