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.

FMI: http://commerce.senate.gov, http://transportation.house.gov