House To Leave FAA in Limbo
“If things follow their current course, as I believe they will,” furloughed FAA workers “will go at least another month or more without pay,” Rockefeller said.The West Virginia Democrat said House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica, R-Fla., seemed willing to “shut down the FAA” over an "ideological issue," and called the dispute "a tragedy that never had to happen" that was ultimately about "bullying."
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said it was Democrats who were insisting on inserting pro-Labor “bullcrap” in the bill.
On April 3, the House passed H.R. 658, a bill which would fund the FAA over the next four years and included HR amendments making it more difficult for airline workers to unionize and stripping sixteen million dollars out of the appropriation for rural airline subsidies. Realizing that the new provisions would require Senate approval, the House passed a stop gap funding bill through July 22. Through conferences with House and Senate committee leaders, a unified bill should have been crafted for House and Senate approval by May 31. Nothing. Input, revisions, compromise requests from the democrats in the House and Senate were ignored. So, with the House in recess, the Senate is left holding this steaming bag of partisan poo.
I guess republicans really don't care about revenues when it comes to the deficit. They are taking a month long "recess" ( perfect word for the playground antics of the 112th Congress), and leaving millions in airline ticket taxes in limbo.
The House of Representatives is taking it's ball and going home. Fvck the thousands of federal employees who are working without paychecks and the citizens who must fly to and from American airports.
It may seem really clever, really funny, really genius to out maneuver those Senate democrats by bailing on reconciling this bill, but I think it's reckless one-ups-manship and those 4,000 plus workers, their families, friends and creditors will remember that the House of Representatives went on vacation without making sure they got paid. Update: Senate leader Reid has worked with La Hood and President Obama to craft a compromise that will pay salaries until September when the issue will come up again.
Dirty politics just got dirtier.
