Each Leader Says The Other Chamber Is To Blame. Politics,
Anyone?
In what can best be described as dueling news releases, the
chairs of the committees responsible for producing legislation
funding the FAA each blamed members of opposite chamber, and party,
for the ongoing partial shutdown of the agency.
“In a stunning display of politics over people, the House
Republicans’ insistence on attaching anti-worker provisions
to an aviation bill has brought about a terrible stalemate that is
hurting the economy. The House brought about a partial
shutdown of the FAA on July 23rd, and their stubborn adherence to
that partisan stance led us to this point," said Senate Commerce,
Science, and Transportation Committee chair John D. (Jay)
Rockefeller IV (D-WV) in a statement posted on the committee
website.
“Today, Republicans once again objected to a simple, fair
request—a ‘clean’ extension of funding that would
maintain operations into the fall, allow the FAA to function, and
restart bipartisan negotiations, which Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
and I have made clear we are ready to do. From day one, House
GOP leaders admitted openly—almost proudly—that they
were doing this to gain ‘leverage’ toward a larger
goal—undermining worker rights. Now, the victims of
that GOP ploy are the passengers, airport safety and construction
projects, 4,000 furloughed workers and more than 70,000
construction jobs around the country that are on hold until the
Republicans realize that they can’t use extortion to get
their way on this.”
Chairman Rockefeller, Chairman
Mica
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair John
Mica (R-FL) had a different take on the issue.
“Senate Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for
this partial shutdown of FAA programs and airport projects,”
Mica said in a statement posted on his committee's website.
“Senate Democrats had a House-passed FAA extension before
them for two weeks but chose to do nothing. Instead of passing this
simple bill, Senate Democrats chose to protect outrageous ticket
subsidies, as much as $3,720 per ticket in Ely, Nevada, on the
backs of 4,000 furloughed FAA employees and thousands more
out-of-work airport construction workers.
“The House sent the 21st FAA extension to the Senate on July
20th, two weeks ago. Instead of passing this bill, which includes
modest reforms to reduce exorbitant airline ticket subsidies and
language the Senate already approved in February, the Senate chose
to play politics and protect their pork,” Mica added.
“There are no labor provisions in the House-passed extension.
House Republicans don’t vote in the Senate. Airlines
don’t vote in the Senate. There are a number of unresolved
issues in negotiations with the Senate, including the NMB labor
provision. We have been willing to compromise, willing to
negotiate, find common ground. But powerful Senate Democrats have
chosen to protect an airline ticket subsidy program on the backs of
thousands of FAA employees and airport construction workers. Now
they plan to engage in a personal and political media bludgeoning
of folks who disagree with them. I remain ready to negotiate in
good faith and get those people back to work,” Mica
concluded.
Tuesday, Senate majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell had signaled their intention to pass the
House extension. In fact, Senator Reid had acknowledged the need to
pass the House extension, reduce high ticket subsidies and reform
the Essential Air Service program. Mica posted the following
excerpt from a press briefing Monday with Senator Reid on the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee website.
QUESTION: Senator, if Republicans
don’t accept a clean extension, temporary extension to the
FAA act here on the floor by the end of the day, will you guys
accept the House version and reopen the FAA?
REID: Yes.
I have said that we have 80,000 jobs at least on the line. In
Nevada, as an example, we have a new airport tower there where they
started the construction about two weeks ago. All those people have
been laid off. That’s a huge project. I don’t know, but
it's nearly a $100 million project.
Barbara Boxer just told me they have a problem with the control
tower in Palm Springs, and as I understood what she said, they've
shut down the construction on that. And that -- they only have one
there, so that’s difficult.
The Essential Air Service is a program that I believe in, but I
also believe that $3,500 per passenger is a little extreme.
That’s what (inaudible) Nevada is. And I do my best to
protect the state, but sometimes you have to be reasonable.
And I think as we -- we learned with this big deal we've just done,
sometimes you have to step back and find out what’s best for
the country and not be bound by some of your own personal issues.
And I’m willing to give that up. I hope the other senators
would do the same.
Soon after that however, Mica says, Senator Reid and his staff
backed away from this expression of common sense. At the end of the
day, Senate Democrats were back to blocking passage of the House
extension and ensuring that the partial FAA shutdown would continue
until Congress returns to Washington in September.