Congressmen Cohen and DeSaulnier Introduce the Airport Infrastructure Resiliency Act

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), the Ranking Member of the Aviation Subcommittee, and Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), a member of the Subcommittee, today introduced the Airport Infrastructure Resiliency Act which creates a pilot program to provide competitive grants to airports to plan for their responses to climate change, extreme weather events and natural disasters. Recent events, such as Winter Storm Elliott in December, exposed many airports’ failure to prepare for a weather emergency that stranded millions in airport terminals as 4,200 flights were cancelled and 5,300 flights were delayed.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“We are making good progress in improving airport infrastructure and efficiencies, particularly at Memphis International Airport, which recently completed a $309 million Consolidated De-Icing Facility project dedicated by Secretary Buttigieg in November. But recent weather events and ongoing climate change will require planning and preparation that many airports have not yet undertaken. The Airport Infrastructure Resiliency Act will provide the necessary financing for making those preparations. I’m pleased to be working with Congressman DeSaulnier and Senator Markey in advancing this legislation.”

Congressman DeSaulnier made the following statement:

“We are already feeling the devastating impacts of climate change, from wildfires to extreme flooding, and airports must be built resiliently in order to withstand these events. Airports are hubs of activity, transporting people and supplies to where they need to go, making it especially vital to ensure operations continue during disasters and extreme weather events. We have an opportunity with this bill to ensure airports, including my home airport of San Francisco International, are supported to make the changes necessary to be climate resilient.”

Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts introduced a companion measure in the Senate in March.

Kevin M. Burke, President and CEO of Airports Council International – North America:  “Critical infrastructure operators like airports already are grappling with the damaging effects of rising sea levels and destructive weather events.  Airports remain committed to strengthening their facilities to address changing conditions.  We greatly appreciate Ranking Member Cohen’s leadership in introducing this important legislation to help support airports across the country in their resiliency planning, design, and construction efforts.”

The American Association of Airport Executives also supports the bill.  

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