FAA Bill Drags

Opponents of a controversial provision involving employees of Federal Express in the FAA reauthorization conference report waged a successful parliamentary attack late Monday, forcing a three-hour reading of the legislation and keeping the Senate in session until 11 p.m. They also were able to delay a cloture vote until Thursday, giving organized labor officials optimum public relations time to exploit the labor issue.

"The delay in the vote gives us time to shine the spotlight of public opinion on this unacceptable anti- labor rider," said Senate Labor and Human Resources ranking member Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., the leading opponent of the provision. Bringing an end to the chaotic night session, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Kennedy reached a unanimous consent agreement to debate the bill for three hours today, three more hours Wednesday and another hour Thursday before voting on cloture.

Lott expressed optimism he would get "at least 65 votes" on cloture, and the conference agreement is expected to sail through the Senate overwhelmingly, if not unanimously. The House passed it last Friday.

The reading of the 122-page conference report on the Senate floor followed a flurry of tit-for-tat parliamentary inquiries and interruptions between sponsors of the FAA legislation and proponents of the FedEx provision on the one side, and organized labor and their supporters on the other. Some senators said they were not entirely comfortable with the FedEx provision, but argued the importance of the aviation legislation outweighed those concerns. The conference agreement, which reauthorizes the federal grants program for airports, is considered must-pass as the new fiscal year begins, especially in light of recent heightened security measures at airports.

Critics argued the FAA measure is tainted by a labor provision they said would significantly impede the right of FedEx employees to organize. It was approved in conference as an amendment by Senate Commerce ranking member Ernest Hollings, D-S.C. Opponents said the amendment is nothing more than a "special-interest" giveaway to FedEx, which loans its airplanes to senators and House members for official travel.

FedEx officials say the provision is a "technical amendment" to restore the term "express carrier" as among the entities covered by the Railway Labor Act. But Kennedy and other opponents said the provision would hurt FedEx employees. "The Senate Republican leadership is cynically using the aviation bill to conceal their anti-worker payoff to the Federal Express Corporation," Kennedy said in a statement.