A new, bipartisan COVID-19 relief package would include $17 billion for the struggling airline industry, a spokeswoman for Senator Mark Warner said Tuesday according to Reuters News Service.
The overall stimulus package would be for $908 billion, short of the $1.3 trillion CARES Act that was passed by Congress in March. This second stimulus has been delayed for four months now, mostly by partisan bickering among lawmakers and partly when Congress shut down for the national election.
Airlines received $25 billion in March.
According to Reuters, Warner’s office said the plan includes $15 billion for transit systems, $4 billion for airports, $8 billion for private buses and $1 billion for passenger railroad Amtrak.
The proposal is designed to provide assistance for four months; Congress and President-elect Joe Biden can then decide in March whether the airlines need another relief package beyond that.
Whether the proposal will have the support of the current White House and Congress remains to be seen.
Airlines have been desperately seeking a second stimulus to fund the Payroll Protection Program, which carried them for six months after the CARES Act was passed. But when restrictions on layoffs and buyouts expired on Oct. 1, airlines began mass employment reductions – more than 32,000 furloughs just from American and United airlines alone – as the industry has seen a dramatic 60 percent reduction in passenger traffic.
