FAA Operations Still in Limbo

WASHINGTON—Lost amid the debt-ceiling drama on Capitol Hill, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is still left without a budget. For nearly two weeks the agency has been in a partial shutdown, forcing a furlough of thousands of employees, leaving tens of thousands of construction workers and contractors without jobs, and costing the government millions.

The agency, which oversees and regulates the civil aviation industry, hasn’t had a long-term, multiyear budget since 2007. It has since depended on 20 short-term extensions, the last of which expired on July 22.

Engrossed in the battle over the debt ceiling, lawmakers had failed to authorize a new budget, causing the partial shutdown that began on July 23. As of Aug. 2, members of Congress returned home for a month-long recess, but the issue remains unresolved.

While air travelers, air traffic controllers, and the majority of agency workers have not been affected, the partial shutdown has temporarily put 4,000 agency employees out of work.

In addition, it has held up about $2.5 billion worth of agency funding that was originally allocated for over a hundred construction and maintenance projects at airports across the country. The work stoppage has affected between 70,000 and 90,000 construction workers who have been temporarily laid off.

The shutdown is also costing the federal government about $28.6 million per day in lost tax revenue. Instead of passing the benefits of the tax holiday onto consumers, most of the airlines have instead pocketed the cash for themselves.

In yet another example of partisan politics gone too far, fundamental disagreements between the GOP-led House and the Democratic-controlled Senate resulted in the inability to pass a new budget for the agency.

One point of contention was that the most recent short-term funding extension passed by the House eliminates $16.5 million worth of subsidies for flights to 13 rural airports around the country, some of which are located in states with Democratic senators.

Senate Democrats have also complained that the most recent long-term funding bill proposed by the House makes it more difficult for workers in the aviation industry to unionize.

President Obama and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood have urged Congress to return from recess to fund the FAA, declaring that thousands of jobs are at stake. The president has said that he expects something to get done before the end of the week.