Christopher Parypa / Shutterstock.com

What’s the best way to get the U.S. Senate to vote on a measure that would undo some of the damage caused by mandatory budget cuts? Well, many of them will be flying back to their home states this weekend, and they’d rather not face long delays at the airport caused by furloughs to air traffic controllers employed by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Senate passed yesterday a bill that while not replenishing the FAA’s lost funds, gives the Transportation Department the ability to move money between its accounts to ensure that air traffic controllers don’t take any more mandatory unpaid leave as a result of sequestration. The furloughs which began this week, prompted waves of delays at many of the nation’s airports, frustrating plebeian travelers but apparently only catching the attention of the Senate when its members realized they, too, might be facing long waits on the tarmac. As The Washington Post puts it:

Although fewer flights were delayed Thursday than earlier in the week, Friday is one of the busiest travel days of the week, and most members of the House and Senate planned to fly out to spend next week in their home states.

But even if the the House speeds through a version of the bill it is expected to introduce today, that won’t help anyone getting on a plane today. The White House has said it will give strong consideration to any bill that aims to reduce the number of furloughs caused by sequestration, but even if President Obama were to give it his quick stamp of approval, air traffic controllers would still be furloughed through this weekend.