FAA bill to keep airports open expires in just TWO days as lawmakers scramble to cut a deal while pushing 'pet projects' including adding pro-Palestine protestors to the no-fly list

A bill that extends the authority of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expires Friday, but lawmakers are still trying to attach their pet projects into the legislation. 

The FAA bill is set to expire Friday evening at midnight, but the House stepped in to pass a one-week extension Wednesday, leaving the rest up to the Senate.

However, if a short-term extension isn't cleared through the Senate by Friday, airports across the country would slam to a halt as funding for air traffic controllers and other critical aviation roles could run out. 

Further complicating the matter, the FAA reauthorization is one of the last must-pass bills that Congress has to address this year.

As a result, Democrats and Republicans are trying to attach amendments to the already 1,000-page bill to secure funding for their personal 'pet projects.'

Their proposals include: outlawing drones flying over NFL and MLB games, adding pro-Palestine protestors to the 'no fly' list, increasing the number of flights from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and reintroducing whole milk onto public school lunch menus. 

The FAA authorization bill provides funding for airports across the country and lawmakers are attempting to add many non-aviation related amendments to the measure 

A measure in the current FAA package would add additional long-haul flights from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)

'In terms of the timeline, how it gets done, it buys some time if the House obviously sends us that [bill] to get it done next week,' Senate Minority Whip Jon Thune, R-S.D., told reporters. 

'It just gives us a little breathing room,' he said.

Still, some in the Senate GOP conference have issues with some of the amendments, which could pose trouble for the bill even with an extension. 

'Clearly we have a number of objections on our side, which are probably not going to go away,' Thune said. 

But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is still hoping that the FAA reauthorization could pass before Friday's deadline. 

'We're working really hard to get it finished this week in the Senate and that's what we hope to do,' he said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. 

And lawmakers are adamant that the FAA authorization will not lapse, which would paralyze airports nationwide.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Wednesday he hopes to get the Senate bill passed before the Friday deadline

If the full Senate FAA reauthorization bill or a one week extension is not passed then travelers would experience major flight delays and cancelations  

'Well, it will get done this week or there will be a temporary extension,' Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told DailyMail.com. 'One or the other, we're not shutting down the airports.' 

When pressed on the massive amount of amendments still being hashed out for the bill, Blumenthal admitted its one of lawmakers last chances to get legislation passed before the November elections. 

'There are very few vehicles for for passing bills [remaining], so people are trying to catch their bills to the FAA measure,' he said. 

'And so I fully understand that a lot of the unrelated or extraneous amendments simply will be rejected for that reason.'

One of the non-aviation proposals would lift tariffs on certain types of titanium sponge imports. 

Another would authorize an internet-access program that provides service to rural and low-income communities. 

However, there are numerous flight-related provisions as well. 

One proposal would raise the retirement age of pilots from 65 to 67 as the industry faces an aging workforce and pilot shortages.

A different amendment, which has caused controversy between Republicans and Democrats, would ensure travelers are automatically refunded if their flights are canceled. 

That measure is in-line with a Department of Transportation rule announced in April, but Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is the top Republican on the committee responsible for the FAA bill, said the automatic refunding of canceled flights is not necessary as travelers often opt to immediately rebook on the same airline. 

'If you're flying somewhere and your flight is canceled, what most consumers want is not a refund,' Cruz told reporters Wednesday. 

'It would not serve consumers well to say in the instance that a flight is cancelled, they automatically refund your money even if you don't want it and you'd prefer to be rebooked.'

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, said the FAA bill will include language enabling refunds for canceled flights

He said he is still in favor of refunds in the case of canceled flights and there are still provisions in the bill to ensure that consumers are compensated, but they would not happen automatically.