Airport Alert: House Passes Stop-Gap Funding Bill
September 23, 2020
After White House officials and Congressional leaders reached a deal to add funding for agriculture and nutrition assistance, the House last night passed a continuing resolution to keep the government operating through December 11. The bipartisan agreement should clear the way for the Senate to pass the measure before the September 30 deadline and avoid a government shutdown.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund Fix: The short-term CR is relatively "clean." However, the measure includes a critical fix for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which is suffering from a dramatic drop in revenue due to low passenger levels and the temporary suspension of aviation excise taxes through the end of the year that was included in the CARES Act to help ailing carriers. The CR would bolster the AATF with a $14 billion transfer from the general fund.
COVID-Related Spending Proposals Excluded: Not surprisingly, the CR does not include funding for a long list of COVID-related items. Leaders of both parties continue to insist that those issues should be considered as part of discussions on a future relief package, which, unfortunately, remains stuck amid election-year politics.
What's Next: The Senate is expected to clear the short-term CR before the September 30 deadline.
Airport Input Still Needed to Highlight the Urgency of Additional Federal Assistance: While the prospects for congressional approval of a broad coronavirus relief bill before the November elections are growing increasingly dim, it is still important for airports to weigh in with your elected officials to urge their support for critical airport and aviation system needs, including a minimum of $10 billion for airports and $3.5 billion for concessionaires. There is little doubt that discussions on relief will continue, and we need to make sure that airport needs are front-and-center with key lawmakers given the pressure they are receiving from other industries and interests.
Our partners in the airline industry are working aggressively to advocate for an extension of the Payroll Support Program. The CARES Act included $25 billion for passenger carriers and a prohibition on involuntary layoffs or furloughs through September 30. Airlines, labor groups and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are continuing to press for more funding to extend the PSP through March 2021. Yesterday, labor leaders and CEOs from American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue were back in Washington to urge Congress to take action after previous high-level meetings with the White House and Senate and House leaders.
Two transportation committee leaders -- Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Susan Collins (R-ME) -- on Monday introduced a bill to extend the program at a cost of almost $29 billion. Wicker chairs the Commerce Committee, and Collins chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation. Senators Wicker and Collins have been strongly supportive of providing additional assistance to airports as well, including the $10 billion that was included in the Senate Republican HEALS Act introduced in late July.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund Fix: The short-term CR is relatively "clean." However, the measure includes a critical fix for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which is suffering from a dramatic drop in revenue due to low passenger levels and the temporary suspension of aviation excise taxes through the end of the year that was included in the CARES Act to help ailing carriers. The CR would bolster the AATF with a $14 billion transfer from the general fund.
COVID-Related Spending Proposals Excluded: Not surprisingly, the CR does not include funding for a long list of COVID-related items. Leaders of both parties continue to insist that those issues should be considered as part of discussions on a future relief package, which, unfortunately, remains stuck amid election-year politics.
What's Next: The Senate is expected to clear the short-term CR before the September 30 deadline.
Airport Input Still Needed to Highlight the Urgency of Additional Federal Assistance: While the prospects for congressional approval of a broad coronavirus relief bill before the November elections are growing increasingly dim, it is still important for airports to weigh in with your elected officials to urge their support for critical airport and aviation system needs, including a minimum of $10 billion for airports and $3.5 billion for concessionaires. There is little doubt that discussions on relief will continue, and we need to make sure that airport needs are front-and-center with key lawmakers given the pressure they are receiving from other industries and interests.
Our partners in the airline industry are working aggressively to advocate for an extension of the Payroll Support Program. The CARES Act included $25 billion for passenger carriers and a prohibition on involuntary layoffs or furloughs through September 30. Airlines, labor groups and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are continuing to press for more funding to extend the PSP through March 2021. Yesterday, labor leaders and CEOs from American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue were back in Washington to urge Congress to take action after previous high-level meetings with the White House and Senate and House leaders.
Two transportation committee leaders -- Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Susan Collins (R-ME) -- on Monday introduced a bill to extend the program at a cost of almost $29 billion. Wicker chairs the Commerce Committee, and Collins chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation. Senators Wicker and Collins have been strongly supportive of providing additional assistance to airports as well, including the $10 billion that was included in the Senate Republican HEALS Act introduced in late July.
