Recall that the Department of Transportation under President Barack Obama warned a week or two ago that nearly 150 control towers at small regional airports will close down, ostensibly due to sequester budget cuts.  DoT also warned of furloughs at major airports, cynically noting that resulting delays could be “very painful for the flying public.”

To alleviate this, Senator Jerry Moran (R, KS) proposed replacing the $50 million of Obama Sequester cuts from the FAA with savings from unspent balances, a kind agency slush fund that all agencies squirrel away against various exigencies, and by reducing other low-priority spending.

Enter, stage left, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, NV).  He pulled Moran’s amendment and refused to allow it to come to the floor for a vote.

Thus, as The Wall Street Journal puts it,

…in the weeks ahead travelers will likely experience the frustration of flight delays, cancellations and closed airports.  It won’t happen by accident or out of fiscal necessity, but because Washington Democrats refuse to prioritize federal spending.