Secretary Writes That 74,000 Workers, Off The Job In FAA
Stalemate, Pay The Price
The following post appeared Wednesday on Secretary of
Transportation Ray LaHood's Blog "Fast Lane":
Secretary LaHood
At airports across America, projects
representing $11 billion in work and 70,000 construction jobs and
jobs in related fields sit idle because Congress has failed to
reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration. Now, Congress is
going on vacation, without passing the simple FAA extension that
would allow those 70,000 workers--plus the 4,000 FAA employees who
have also been furloughed--to get back to work.
We are smack dab in the middle of the construction season, but we
are watching a Congress leave town without putting 74,000 workers
back on the job. Congress has been talking the talk on jobs, but
they refuse to walk the walk. We have heard many speeches about
creating jobs and putting people to work; well I can tell you,
turning a blind eye is not the way we put people to work.
As U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer said, "This is a perfect example
of the politics--not of persuasion, not of compromise, of coming
together--but the politics of confrontation."
It's a shame, especially in this economy, to let the financial
security of 74,000 families be caught in partisan debate. We are
talking about families--good, working families, maybe friends of
yours or neighbors--having to go without a paycheck. And if
Congress doesn't act until reconvening after Labor Day, these
families will have endured nearly 50 days without income.
Rent, mortgages, groceries,
back-to-school needs, medical care, electricity--these expenses
don't take a vacation; they just accumulate relentlessly.
Meanwhile, members of Congress jet out of Washington, using the
same aviation system they've turned their backs on.
That's the scene that led President
Obama yesterday to call this "another Washington-inflicted wound on
America." And I agree. After nearly 35 years as a staffer in
Congress, a House member, and now as Secretary of Transportation, I
am dismayed by the persistent acrimony plaguing this simple
extension. I have had many occasions to be proud of the practical
compromises Congress is capable of. I staffed a Congressman for 17
years who worked with people across the aisle; I worked with my
colleagues across the aisle in the House for 14 years; and I'm
working right now for a President across the aisle.
Do you know what I've learned? The
aisle isn't as wide as you might think.
We are fortunate that our air traffic controllers are still on the
job, and flying is safe. We are fortunate that many airport
inspectors have volunteered not only to work without pay, but to
rack up expenses on their credit cards while the do their jobs. We
are fortunate that we started from the position of having the best
aviation system in the world. But, this is no way to run that
system.
It's not too late. Congress may have recessed, but it has not
adjourned, and our legislators can still act to pass a clean FAA
extension. I urge them to do that.