Air Buff Wrote:
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> U.S. Sen. Timothy Kaine said Thursday he and
> fellow Democratic Sen. Mark Warner are “prepared
> to be jerks” to protect Dulles International
> Airport and slow the growth of Reagan National.
>
> Kaine, speaking during the Dulles Matters seminar
> sponsored by the Committee for Dulles, said he may
> hold up the Federal Aviation Administration’s
> upcoming reauthorization if his fellow members of
> Congress decide to push for more domestic flights
> at Reagan that breach the longstanding 1,250-mile
> perimeter.
>
> In the Senate, any member may place an anonymous
> hold on a bill to keep it from reaching the
> floor.
>
> “It would not be in either Mark’s or my style
> to be anonymous,” Kaine said after addressing
> the audience of political, policy and business
> leaders on the AOL campus in Sterling. “I
> can’t promise it won’t be anonymous but I
> think we will probably not be anonymous about this
> at all. We will be taking the steps we need to
> preserve the vitality of this important
> institution. Because if you can do these perimeter
> exemptions to help someone out, you weaken the
> whole system.”
>
> As the Washington Business Journal reported last
> week, the Metropolitan Washington Airports
> Authority has made it a priority preventing
> further growth at Reagan, as a means of slowing
> domestic passenger declines at Dulles. Three times
> in 15 years, Congress has lifted the 1,250-mile
> perimeter and added new flight slots at National,
> largely, local officials say, because it’s more
> convenient for members of Congress and their
> staff.
>
> Dulles’ domestic passenger counts have tumbled
> as a result, while Reagan’s are soaring. Reagan,
> which was designed as a short haul airport, is
> expected to top Dulles’ traffic numbers in 2015
> — 23.2 million to 21.4 million.
>
> “They want to go to National and fly home as
> fast as they can,” Kaine said of his
> congressional colleagues. “We are just
> outnumbered.”
>
> The Reagan-stall strategy was voiced by numerous
> leaders at Dulles Matters, including Gov. Terry
> McAuliffe, Rep. Barbara Comstock, and MWAA CEO
> Jack Potter.
>
>
>
http://wtop.com/local/2015/04/virginia-senators-pr
> epared-to-be-jerks-to-protect-dulles-airport/
Good for them! I hope Dulles comes back to life soon.