Airport Alert: Procedural Vote on Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework Fails As Expected in Senate
Today, a procedural vote to begin debate on the bipartisan infrastructure framework expectedly failed by a vote of 49-51 almost entirely on party lines. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) voted "no" to provide him the opportunity to bring the bill back up more quickly in the future.
The vote was part of Majority Leader Schumer's strategy to force the bipartisan group of Senate negotiators to wrap up their deliberations so that the Senate can move forward to pass an infrastructure package before Congress recesses in August. However, this tactic was met by strong resistance among Senate Republicans given that sections of the bill concerning public transportation and payfors remain unfinished. Without a settled agreement, finalized legislative text and a corresponding Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score to determine whether the framework is fully paid for, many Republicans felt the vote was premature.
Nevertheless, after the failed vote, both Democratic and Republican Senate negotiators released a joint statement stating, "We have made significant progress and are close to a final agreement. We will continue working hard to ensure we get this critical legislation right – and are optimistic that we will finalize, and be prepared to advance this historic bipartisan proposal." Earlier today, Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), the lead Republican negotiator, led a letter with a group of Senate Republicans to Leader Schumer signaling that they will be ready to advance the infrastructure bill on Monday. The letter stipulates that Republicans "intend to advance the bill pending final negotiations that are going through right now and on getting a score back" on the bill's financing. The other signers of the letter included Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Todd Young (R-IN), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Richard Burr (R-NC), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND). The addition of Senator Cramer to this group could indicate that there is additional Republican support for a bipartisan infrastructure if an agreement can be reached.
AAAE continues to work with appropriators, authorizers and Senate negotiators on the $25 billion aviation section in the framework to provide airports with more discretion over the funding and to broaden the eligibility of projects that funds can apply to. As long as the bipartisan infrastructure framework remains unfinalized, it is important that airports continue to press their Congressional delegations on their funding needs. We urge you to highlight specific projects and priorities at your airports that would benefit from additional federal funding and/or additional PFC flexibility.
