Tue, Oct 04, 2011
Transportation Secretary LaHood Does Not Need An Act Of
Congress For Reimbursements
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood does not require
Congressional authorization to supply back pay to FAA employees who
were furloughed during this summer's temporary shutdown of the
agency, according to the Congressman who introduced legislation for
that purpose.
A bill had been introduced by New Jersey Republican Frank
LoBiondo (pictured) to pay FAA employees for their
involuntary time off. In a news release Friday, he said that he had
been informed by Transportation Secretary LaHood that Department of
Transportation lawyers had determined additional Congressional
action was not needed to process back pay for the two week partial
shutdown that affected nearly 4,000 FAA employees nationwide.
Through administrative action, the back pay will be included in a
mid-October paycheck.
“After weeks of exploring all legislative options
available and repeated conversations with the Secretary,
today’s news is certainly welcome and ensures the affected
FAA employees receive the respect and thanks they deserve,”
LoBiondo said in the news release. “A preventable failure of
Congress resulting in significant hardship for thousands of FAA
employees has finally been made right. I appreciate Secretary
LaHood’s commitment to ensure the furloughed FAA employees
... were not held at fault for Washington’s
dysfunction.”
“The livelihood of New Jersey workers and their families
is my top concern and I’m pleased that these paychecks will
be going out," said New Jersey Democratic Senator Frank Launtenberg
in a separate news release. "At a time when Americans are
struggling to find jobs and keep food on the table, we must put
politics aside and find solutions to the problems facing our
country.” Lautenberg's more partisan statement blamed House
Republicans for the agency's shutdown.
A report in
The Hill indicates that the
partial shutdown in the FAA in August cost the government an
estimated $30 million per day in lost sales taxes on airline
tickes. Along with the 4,000 civil servants, it idled some 70,000
people working on construction projects at airports across the
country.
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