Congress postpones making FAA funding decision
August 3, 2011, 03:44 pm
Congress has gone into recess after passing the deficit ceiling increase, but the Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood isn't happy that no legislation was passed to restore funding to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to The Hill.
In the past several weeks, roughly 4,000 FAA workers have been furloughed, numerous airport construction projects around the country have been put on hold and an estimated 70,000 construction workers have lost employment. The federal government is losing approximately $30 million a day, money that it would normally collect on airline ticket taxes. Until it is authorized to do so by Congress, the FAA cannot collect these funds and pay its employees and construction workers.
"We are talking about families - good, working families, maybe friends of yours or neighbors - having to go without a paycheck," LaHood wrote on his blog. "And if Congress doesn't act until reconvening after Labor Day, these families will have endured nearly 50 days without income."
The FAA reports that in 2009, there were 19,750 total landing facilities in the United States, including 5,178 public-use and 14,120 private-use ones. It's unclear how many of these airports were slated to have construction projects that have been put on hold. The lack of ongoing improvements at airports leads to safety concerns, and a possible increase in pilot life insurance claims.
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