Compromise heard from?

Congressional leaders recently agreed to move forward a $105 billion bill designed to improve the safety of air travel after a series of close calls between planes at the nation’s airports, according to the Associated Press.

Is that what it took to get serious about airline safety? A series of close calls? Better late than never, we suppose.

The 1,069-page bill is a bipartisan compromise set to increase the number of air traffic controllers, which the Federal Aviation Administration says is deficient nationwide by about 3,000 (!), and requires the FAA to use new technology designed to prevent collisions on runways.

Because Congress is a political outfit, the bill prohibits airlines from charging extra for families to sit together. Putting campaign talking points into legislation helps grease the tracks for passage, doncha know.

The bill could be voted on as early as next week, but could be delayed for any number of reasons.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, says the final bill shows “that aviation safety and stronger consumer standards are a big priority . . . It is also the first major upgrade to air traffic controller hiring in decades.”

However, the biggest issue is related directly to Congress and its own ease of travel as members go back and forth between their home districts and the Capitol. Some lawmakers wanted to add 10 additional flights per day to Washington’s Reagan National Airport, which is about a 15-minute drive across the Potomac River to the Capitol building.

Not surprisingly, Western state lawmakers were for it, because they’d like to avoid layovers when coming from halfway across the country. Just as unsurprising, Dulles Airport, which lies roughly 25 miles away from the Capitol and doesn’t have the same restrictions, objected. United Airlines, which “dominates” Dulles, also opposed the measure.

Lawmakers from Virginia (where Dulles is located) and Maryland (where Baltimore/Washington International is located) were unhappy with the measure, and contend that Reagan is already too busy.

Nevertheless, by hook or crook, a compromise of five round trips made it into the final bill.

Some politicians are quick to point out that government should operate more like a business. We agree, but that requires compromise and negotiation. Maybe Congress finally got its own message.