Airport Alert: Key, Bipartisan Group of Senators Releases Details of Yet Another Infrastructure Plan
June 10, 2021
Following the collapse of bipartisan talks earlier this week between President Biden and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), a bipartisan group of five Democratic and five Republican Senators, including Republican Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT), Rob Portman (R-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), as well as Democratic Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Jon Tester (D-MT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Mark Warner (D-VA), released their opening offer in ongoing infrastructure negotiations with the White House.
The bipartisan infrastructure plan would spend $974 billion over five years or $1.2 trillion over eight years and includes $579 billion in new spending above the current baseline. It is being reported that the plan is completely paid for without raising taxes by, instead, utilizing leftover COVID-19 relief money and indexing the gas tax to inflation, among other things.
For airports, the bipartisan proposal includes $44 billion, which we understand assumes current, baseline spending for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) over eight years totaling $31 billion, plus a one-time increase of $13 billion. While this is $3 billion more than the House Problem Solvers' plan released on Tuesday, it is still significantly less than President Biden's American Jobs Plan and the earlier Senate Republican Roadmap, which both proposed about $25 billion in new funding to upgrade airports.
This proposal is an important development in the negotiations for the simple reason that it is supported by both Senators Manchin and Sinema, two key votes that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is reliant upon if he were to instead proceed with the partisan reconciliation process.
However, the initial reaction to the proposal's details have been poor, especially among Democrats. The White House immediately said that it would not accept any plan with a gas tax indexed to inflation because that would violate President Biden's pledge to not raise taxes on individuals making $400,000 a year. Additionally, while the plan includes a number of line items to address climate change, some progressive Democrats have indicated that it's unlikely to be enough to win their vote. Finally, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), whose committee has jurisdiction over the funding mechanisms for the plan, has already said that that the bipartisan negotiations have produced nothing acceptable to Democrats and that it is time to do an infrastructure bill in reconciliation.
It is unclear whether President Biden will engage further with the bipartisan group, or, if he will instead choose to formally pull the plug on all negotiations and take his chances with reconciliation. Either way, time is running out and the president will have to make a decision soon.
As we enter what could be the final days of negotiations, now more than ever, it is critical that airports remain persistent and continue to articulate their significant infrastructure needs with their Congressional delegations. AAAE will continue to advocate for additional airport funding – including increased federal support and an overdue adjustment to the federal cap on local PFCs – in whatever package ultimately is agreed upon.
Following the collapse of bipartisan talks earlier this week between President Biden and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), a bipartisan group of five Democratic and five Republican Senators, including Republican Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT), Rob Portman (R-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), as well as Democratic Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Jon Tester (D-MT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Mark Warner (D-VA), released their opening offer in ongoing infrastructure negotiations with the White House.
The bipartisan infrastructure plan would spend $974 billion over five years or $1.2 trillion over eight years and includes $579 billion in new spending above the current baseline. It is being reported that the plan is completely paid for without raising taxes by, instead, utilizing leftover COVID-19 relief money and indexing the gas tax to inflation, among other things.
For airports, the bipartisan proposal includes $44 billion, which we understand assumes current, baseline spending for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) over eight years totaling $31 billion, plus a one-time increase of $13 billion. While this is $3 billion more than the House Problem Solvers' plan released on Tuesday, it is still significantly less than President Biden's American Jobs Plan and the earlier Senate Republican Roadmap, which both proposed about $25 billion in new funding to upgrade airports.
This proposal is an important development in the negotiations for the simple reason that it is supported by both Senators Manchin and Sinema, two key votes that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is reliant upon if he were to instead proceed with the partisan reconciliation process.
However, the initial reaction to the proposal's details have been poor, especially among Democrats. The White House immediately said that it would not accept any plan with a gas tax indexed to inflation because that would violate President Biden's pledge to not raise taxes on individuals making $400,000 a year. Additionally, while the plan includes a number of line items to address climate change, some progressive Democrats have indicated that it's unlikely to be enough to win their vote. Finally, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), whose committee has jurisdiction over the funding mechanisms for the plan, has already said that that the bipartisan negotiations have produced nothing acceptable to Democrats and that it is time to do an infrastructure bill in reconciliation.
It is unclear whether President Biden will engage further with the bipartisan group, or, if he will instead choose to formally pull the plug on all negotiations and take his chances with reconciliation. Either way, time is running out and the president will have to make a decision soon.
As we enter what could be the final days of negotiations, now more than ever, it is critical that airports remain persistent and continue to articulate their significant infrastructure needs with their Congressional delegations. AAAE will continue to advocate for additional airport funding – including increased federal support and an overdue adjustment to the federal cap on local PFCs – in whatever package ultimately is agreed upon.
