SENATE BILL: The Glorious Airport Renaming Act of 2014 (Vetoed)

[Donerail]

I, for one, don't mind debating things like this every once in a while. We have lots of slots; we might as well have some fun with it every once in a while. Doesn't the South have a pentagram on their front lawn or something?

That is a tourist attraction that actually generates revenue for the region.

[Donerail]

I object to the amendment.

Seconded

As do I. Cottonfield revitalized the South from a rotting cesspool to an oasis of activity and debate.

Here's a crazy idea I'm just throwing out there: why not let the South decide what to name her airports?

[Donerail]

Actually, yea, can we even rename these? I was going to redraft to include a more balanced bill, but the question now is whether this is a job for the regions or a job for us?

Do the regions staff their own TSA molestors? If not, I don't see why they would feel entitled to name the airports.

I don't see how the TSA has anything to do with it. Most commercial service airports are publicly owned by local or state governments - the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is perhaps the only one where the Senate can claim jurisdiction. Houston's owned by Houston, Dallas by the Cities of Dallas and Ft. Worth, Atlanta by the city, Tampa by the county, Orlando by the city and county, Miami by the county, Ft. Lauderdale by the county, Charlotte by the city - none of it's owned by the feds.

[Donerail]

Actually, yea, can we even rename these? I was going to redraft to include a more balanced bill, but the question now is whether this is a job for the regions or a job for us?

Do the regions staff their own TSA molestors? If not, I don't see why they would feel entitled to name the airports.

I don't see how the TSA has anything to do with it. Most commercial service airports are publicly owned by local or state governments - the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is perhaps the only one where the Senate can claim jurisdiction. Houston's owned by Houston, Dallas by the Cities of Dallas and Ft. Worth, Atlanta by the city, Tampa by the county, Orlando by the city and county, Miami by the county, Ft. Lauderdale by the county, Charlotte by the city - none of it's owned by the feds.

Right, so do we even have authority to rename these airports without putting them under federal control?

I certainly won't sign anything that doesn't give me an airport somewhere either.

So put them under federal control in the redraft.

You're going to pay billions to operate airports and take that away from the regions? Hartsfield-Jackson, for what it's worth, has around $3B in debt - just so you know what you're getting into.