Editorial: Congress, fly higher for FAA
Federal Aviation Administration employee Ralph Randall attends a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington Wednesday, July 27, 2011. Credit: AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
Jobs and revenue are notoriously in short supply, but Congress is locked in
an impasse that has idled thousands of workers and is costing $30 million a day in uncollected taxes: partisan bickering over the Federal Aviation Administration.
The House of Representatives left town Monday with the FAA still partially shuttered, and the Senate is slated to follow suit by week's end. That's just irresponsible. The Senate has also reached an impasse on making sure the FAA can operate fully.
Nearly 4,000 FAA workers have been furloughed since July 22, when the latest of 20 temporary funding extensions expired. The agency has also stopped work on 200 construction projects resulting in thousands of additional layoffs. Included are $1.3 million in projects at MacArthur Airport, employing 130 people, as well as $8 million in runway work at JFK and $10 million to install security barriers at LaGuardia.
The battle is over a National Mediation Board rule making it easier for unions to organize. In bills authorizing long-term FAA funding, House Republicans reversed the rule, while Senate Democrats preserved it. That unresolved difference is the basis for the stalemate. The House approved temporary funding but cut subsidies for flights to Democratic districts. Senate Democrats want to pass temporary funding, but are being thwarted by Republicans.
Holding the FAA hostage, leaving the airline ticket tax uncollected, throwing people out of work -- that's no way to do the public's business. hN
