Airport Alert: House Committee Approves $8 Billion for "Airport Relief"
February 11, 2021
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee tonight approved a coronavirus relief package that contains $8 billion for airports and concessionaires. During today's 9-hour session, Democrats rejected a long list of Republican amendments including some that proposed to cut or redirect COVID-19 relief funding for airports. An amendment aimed at pre-flight domestic testing was also rejected on technical grounds despite bipartisan criticism for a proposed mandate under consideration by the Administration.
Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), the top Republican on the Committee, accused his Democratic colleagues of being in a "partisan rush" to use the partisan budget reconciliation process to pass the bill instead of taking a bipartisan approach. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) admitted his distaste for using budget reconciliation to move the bill. But he told his colleagues that the "legislation cannot be stalled."
As we reported earlier this week, the package includes a total of $8 billion for airports and concessionaires. Of that amount, $6.492 billion would be reserved for primary airports and $100 million for general aviation airports. The package also contains $608 million to cover the local match for AIP projects funded in FY21 and FY20, and it includes language setting aside $800 in relief for certain concessionaires.
Chairman DeFazio Comments on Need for Airport Funding
During his opening statement, Chairman DeFazio commented on the need for Congress to provide additional funding for airports and concessionaires:
"We are also providing $8 billion to help our Nation's airports address their increasing challenges, including $800 million in relief to airport concessions, with the vast majority of funding set aside for small businesses and minority-owned firms. According to an airport industry group, U.S. airports will lose at least $17 billion between April 2021 and March 2022 because of the precipitous and sustained decline in airline passenger traffic resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, airports are forced to deal with these staggering losses even when the operating costs remain largely unchanged, since you can't just close an airport and in many cases can't reduce operating hours by any substantial measure. Without immediate help, it will be difficult for airports to retain their current workforce levels and maintain essential operations, let alone invest in critical airport safety and other infrastructure projects.
Providing this essential funding will help ensure our Nation's airports can continue to make critical investments that will protect airport workers, concession owners, and travelers during one of the most perilous times in our Nation's history and to ready them for the rebound in commercial air traffic when Americans are vaccinated and take to the skies again."
Aviation-Related Amendments
Van Duyne/COVID-19 Test for Domestic Travel: Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Garret Graves offered an amendment on behalf of Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) that would have prevented DOT and FAA from planning, developing, carrying out or enforcing a mandate to require passengers to have a negative COVID-19 test before traveling domestically. Although the notion of a pre-departure domestic travel requirement received strong, bipartisan criticism, and Chairman DeFazio called it "impractical and unworkable," the amendment was rejected on technical grounds by a vote of 28 to 35.
Guest/Local Match: Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS) offered an amendment that would have eliminated the proposal in the bill to provide $608 million to cover the local match for airport projects funded in FY21. His amendment also would have eliminated provisions in the bill that call for the federal share to be 100 percent for FEMA and transit projects. It was defeated by voice vote.
Guest/Airport Grants: Guest offered another amendment that would have reduced by 10 percent the amount of funding to each airport slated to receive more than $100 million. The amendment would have redirected those funds to DOT to provide discretionary grants to small and non-hub airports. It was defeated by voice vote.
Garret Graves/Sustainable Jet Fuel: Garret Graves offered an amendment that would have reduced the amount available for primary airports by $50 million and the amount available for transit by the same amount. His amendment would have redirected that money to DOT to use for projects related to sustainable aviation jet fuel instead. The Committee rejected the amendment by voice vote.
Garret Graves/Cybersecurity: The Committee rejected an amendment offered by Garret Graves that would have reduced the amount of money available for primary airports by $50 million and used that money to "improve the cybersecurity of airport computer systems and networks." The Committee rejected the amendment by voice vote.
Garret Graves/Airport Funding: The Committee rejected another Garret Graves amendment that would have prevented an airport from receiving funds that equal more than three years of its operating funds. It was defeated by voice vote.
Gibbs/FBOs: The Committee rejected by voice vote an amendment offered by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) that would have broadened the definitions of eligible large and small airport concessions to include Fixed Base Operators.
Van Drew/COVID-19: The Committee rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) that would have required DOT to work with DHS and HHS to establish "an interagency pilot program to develop and test public health risk mitigations related to COVID-19 in airports and aircraft." The vote was 27 to 36.
Burchett/Limitation on Compensation to Air Carrier Executives: The Committee rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) that would have required an air carrier receiving federal loans in the bill to cap the compensation of its executives at 2019 levels until the carrier repays its loans. The vote was 30 to 35.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee tonight approved a coronavirus relief package that contains $8 billion for airports and concessionaires. During today's 9-hour session, Democrats rejected a long list of Republican amendments including some that proposed to cut or redirect COVID-19 relief funding for airports. An amendment aimed at pre-flight domestic testing was also rejected on technical grounds despite bipartisan criticism for a proposed mandate under consideration by the Administration.
Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), the top Republican on the Committee, accused his Democratic colleagues of being in a "partisan rush" to use the partisan budget reconciliation process to pass the bill instead of taking a bipartisan approach. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) admitted his distaste for using budget reconciliation to move the bill. But he told his colleagues that the "legislation cannot be stalled."
As we reported earlier this week, the package includes a total of $8 billion for airports and concessionaires. Of that amount, $6.492 billion would be reserved for primary airports and $100 million for general aviation airports. The package also contains $608 million to cover the local match for AIP projects funded in FY21 and FY20, and it includes language setting aside $800 in relief for certain concessionaires.
Chairman DeFazio Comments on Need for Airport Funding
During his opening statement, Chairman DeFazio commented on the need for Congress to provide additional funding for airports and concessionaires:
"We are also providing $8 billion to help our Nation's airports address their increasing challenges, including $800 million in relief to airport concessions, with the vast majority of funding set aside for small businesses and minority-owned firms. According to an airport industry group, U.S. airports will lose at least $17 billion between April 2021 and March 2022 because of the precipitous and sustained decline in airline passenger traffic resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, airports are forced to deal with these staggering losses even when the operating costs remain largely unchanged, since you can't just close an airport and in many cases can't reduce operating hours by any substantial measure. Without immediate help, it will be difficult for airports to retain their current workforce levels and maintain essential operations, let alone invest in critical airport safety and other infrastructure projects.
Providing this essential funding will help ensure our Nation's airports can continue to make critical investments that will protect airport workers, concession owners, and travelers during one of the most perilous times in our Nation's history and to ready them for the rebound in commercial air traffic when Americans are vaccinated and take to the skies again."
Aviation-Related Amendments
Van Duyne/COVID-19 Test for Domestic Travel: Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Garret Graves offered an amendment on behalf of Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) that would have prevented DOT and FAA from planning, developing, carrying out or enforcing a mandate to require passengers to have a negative COVID-19 test before traveling domestically. Although the notion of a pre-departure domestic travel requirement received strong, bipartisan criticism, and Chairman DeFazio called it "impractical and unworkable," the amendment was rejected on technical grounds by a vote of 28 to 35.
Guest/Local Match: Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS) offered an amendment that would have eliminated the proposal in the bill to provide $608 million to cover the local match for airport projects funded in FY21. His amendment also would have eliminated provisions in the bill that call for the federal share to be 100 percent for FEMA and transit projects. It was defeated by voice vote.
Guest/Airport Grants: Guest offered another amendment that would have reduced by 10 percent the amount of funding to each airport slated to receive more than $100 million. The amendment would have redirected those funds to DOT to provide discretionary grants to small and non-hub airports. It was defeated by voice vote.
Garret Graves/Sustainable Jet Fuel: Garret Graves offered an amendment that would have reduced the amount available for primary airports by $50 million and the amount available for transit by the same amount. His amendment would have redirected that money to DOT to use for projects related to sustainable aviation jet fuel instead. The Committee rejected the amendment by voice vote.
Garret Graves/Cybersecurity: The Committee rejected an amendment offered by Garret Graves that would have reduced the amount of money available for primary airports by $50 million and used that money to "improve the cybersecurity of airport computer systems and networks." The Committee rejected the amendment by voice vote.
Garret Graves/Airport Funding: The Committee rejected another Garret Graves amendment that would have prevented an airport from receiving funds that equal more than three years of its operating funds. It was defeated by voice vote.
Gibbs/FBOs: The Committee rejected by voice vote an amendment offered by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) that would have broadened the definitions of eligible large and small airport concessions to include Fixed Base Operators.
Van Drew/COVID-19: The Committee rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) that would have required DOT to work with DHS and HHS to establish "an interagency pilot program to develop and test public health risk mitigations related to COVID-19 in airports and aircraft." The vote was 27 to 36.
Burchett/Limitation on Compensation to Air Carrier Executives: The Committee rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) that would have required an air carrier receiving federal loans in the bill to cap the compensation of its executives at 2019 levels until the carrier repays its loans. The vote was 30 to 35.
