Whew, Congress must be exhausted after working so hard to pass a craptastic deficit bill just in the nick of time to save the United States from credit default. Lawmakers cleared out of Washington like a bat out of hell on Tuesday, and will not be back in session until September 7. Good thing no important legislation was left on the table. Oh, wait a minute. Let's take a look at what's still pending on the Congressional to-do list.
4,000 Federal Aviation Administration employees have been furloughed for over a week now, and airport inspection staff are paying their work expenses out of their own pockets, as the agency's operating authority expired on July 23 and has not been renewed. The delay is due to partisan disputes that have reached a stalemate. Republicans accuse Democrats of refusing to let go of airport subsidies in their districts, and Democrats accuse Republicans of putting anti-union language into the FAA bill. Sound familiar?
The FAA has been operating under a series of short-term, routinely passed funding bills since 2007. The Senate approved a long-term bill in February of this year, and the House approved its own bill in April. Most of the differences between the two bills have been worked out, but Republicans attached a provision cutting $16.5 million from rural airport subsidies whose total annual cost is approximately $200 million. Rural airports have been subsidized since airline deregulation in 1978. The program essentially pays airlines to fly less profitable routes to remote airports, allowing passengers who don't live near hubs easier access to air travel. Democrats are fighting these cuts, claiming that jobs in rural airports would be in jeopardy if the subsidies were cut and air traffic fell. Democrats also accuse Republicans of including the cuts out of spite for Democrats' rejecting the GOP's labor provision.
The other sticking point, as I just mentioned, involves labor issues. Republicans want language in the FAA bill that would overturn a National Mediation Board rule, approved last year, that allows airline and railroad employees to form a union by a simple majority of those voting. Prior to that time, a non-voting employee was considered a no vote for forming a union. This language would make it more difficult for Delta Airlines, the largest carrier whose workers aren't largely unionized, to form a union. Democrats resist this provision, claiming that bargaining between a private company and a union is not an issue for the FAA to discuss. The President has also said that he would veto a bill that contained anti-union language.
So there you have it. $16 million and a provision on forming unions have ground a large federal agency to a halt. Because of the impasse, the government stands to lose up to $1 billion in airline ticket taxes, far more than the cost of the airport subsidies (o the irony). However, even though federal taxes aren't being charged, most travelers aren't seeing any savings, as many airlines have raised fares by the amount of the federal tax. Some passengers will actually be due tax refunds if they bought their tickets and paid taxes before the shutdown, but their travel took place during the time airlines no longer had authority to collect the money.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Jay Rockefeller had suggested a "clean extension" for the time being, which would end the shutdown without addressing the subsidy or labor issues, but Republicans have refused. So while members Congress are enjoying paid time off, many FAA employees aren't getting paid at all, and airport construction projects are at a standstill, affecting thousands of private-sector workers as well. Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood and President Obama have each urged Congress to act before its vacation ends in September, using parliamentary procedures that allow bills to be passed by the House and sent to the President for signature without all members present. Don't hold your breath...the Republicans seem to be relishing holding the bill hostage with two relatively minor provisions, even though it costs revenue and jobs, the two things the country needs the most. Or maybe what we need the most is grown-ups in Congress who can move beyond the petty politics and keep the country operating properly...
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