Congress takes its vacation; 74,000 workers, off the job in FAA impasse, take their lumps

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.

Meeting airline pilot at LaGuardia Airport on Monday, photo courtesy Henny Ray Abrams, AP

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 they 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.

Comments

[Forgotten American]

It is unconscionable that Congress should go on vacation while thousand upon thousands of people go without a paycheck. We need to recall this Congress and demand a Recall Election. A recall election may be initiated by voters and can be based on "political charges", for example mismanagement. Search the internet for details on recalling elected officials.

Anybody affected by this should where tee-shirts that state, "RECALL THE 112 CONGRESS!"

[David S. McQueen]

I'm 66 years old and I'm still working. Your boss (Obama) threatened to withhold my SocSec check if the Republicans in the House of Rep. didn't raise taxes by $400 billion. And then you tell Republicans to stop "playing politics". The Democrats and Obama are the politicians spending this country into oblivion.

[Greg Principato]

Secretary LaHood, we here at ACI-NA applaud all your efforts to convince Congress to put the FAA back to work by passing a simple extension. But we think the fact that Congress left town without ensuring funding for the FAA is more than a shame, it’s downright irresponsible.

Congress left for vacation leaving airports, FAA employees and the construction industry up the proverbial creek without a paddle. Airports, large and small, are left without the funding needed to move forward on approved safety and security construction projects; projects which in the majority of cases have already been put out to bid. This doesn’t include the 200 projects where stop work orders that have left construction sites at airports empty and construction crews without paychecks.

You noted we’re already in the middle of the construction season but for many airports in the northern tier the construction season is nearly over and will be by the time Congress returns to work in September. Glacier International in Montana needed their Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds by August 1 so their runway project is now pushed back a year and at Denver International Airport snow season beings September 15th.

Congress’ leaving for vacation without ensuring airports had access to AIP funds means that design and construction workers and contractors won’t have jobs. In fact 220 construction jobs will not be created at Fresno’s Yosemite International because Congress left for vacation without finishing their job! That’s 220 jobs lost in an area where the unemployment rate is 16.8 percent!

Then there are the everyday things that the aviation industry relies on the FAA and its employees for – like approval for environmental and noise projects. Nothing sexy or press worthy there but it has a direct impact on the ability of every airport in this country to do their jobs.

It’s bad enough that Congress is enjoying vacation while FAA employees worry about how to pay the bills but Congress also left town without protecting the aviation trust fund. When the FAA’s operating authority expired so did its ability to collect taxes so the money passengers pay to help maintain the system when they buy their tickets is no longer collected. It is estimated that $1.2 billion that should have gone into the trust fund to be used to maintain and improve the aviation system will instead end up lining the pockets of the airlines – to the tune of $25 million a day - who raised their fares when the ticket tax expired.

Greg Principato
Airports Council International-North America

[E Amend]

Dear Secretary LaHood -

Thank you for all of your hard work in addressing the FAA shutdown. It is clear you are working hard on the behalf of FAA employees, contractors and their families to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

I want to suggest to you to recommend to the President to invoke his authority under the U.S. Constitution to resolve this issue and call the Congress back into session to address this issue.

Under Article 2, Section 3, Clause 2, the President can recall the Congress back from recess for an "extraordinary session".

Given the current economic climate, I would say these are extraordinary times indeed. With more than 100,000 people affected by this shutdown (FAA, contractors, and families) and the potential loss of over $1B in tax revenue (source: WaPo 8/3/11), I think this might be a strategy worth careful consideration as this situation is certainly extraordinary!

It would certainly send the right message to the Nation about how serious the President is about job creation/protection and ensuring we minimize damage to the economy.

Thank you for your time.

Respectfully,
Erik Amend

[AJG]

Amen!

Isn't it interesting that those who didn't do their jobs get to go on a paid vacation for over four weeks and those who did do their jobs are unemployed and unpaid.

[Jerry Herring]

Doesn't the President have the power to recall Congress to work on this matter instead of allowing them a vacation. Don't they all work for the public citizens of the USA. Are they not suppose to listen in our behalf and act for us or are they all above us?

[Robin Syba]

I find comments such as this 'fast lane' article to reflect a political bias. You can state facts without couching an article to push blame to one political party - you quoted the President and Rep Hoyer - 2 Dems - potentially leaving an uninformed reader with the idea that the Republicans were the reason for the lack of authorization. If your intention was not that, then please choose your words more carefully next time.

[Anthony Wallace]

Is there a way to set up a voluntary fund to help our coworkers get through this?

[Gary Nielsen]

My employer (FAA) and the Department of Transportation has been very forthright about acknowledging the work of Airport Inspectors doing their job on their own nickel (so to speak). Yet on our FocusFAA Q&A regarding the furlough, there is the following guidance:

Who are "excepted employees?"
The term "excepted employees" refers to employees who are excepted from a furlough by law because they are (1) performing emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property, (2) involved in the orderly suspension of agency operations, or (3) performing other functions exempted from the furlough.

and further down, it states:

May an employee volunteer to do his or her job on a nonpay basis during a furlough period?
No. The FAA is not authorized to accept the voluntary services of an individual under 31 U.S.C. 1342.

Isn't an employee in effect "volunteering" if they are using personal funds to conduct their work? I would consider it a significant difference in respect to showing up at a place of employment (duty station) versus that of being in a travel status as being highly different circumstances. Understanding that there is the expectation of repayment at a later date, it appears that our employer is looking the other way due to the problem at hand and is using an "employer" convenient method to still conduct inspections. At the cost to the individual.

If the travel and per diem is so critical (which it is), why can't the "excepted employee" use Ops funds issued under national emergency exigency conditions from appropriate offices (ABU, etc.) and issue our peers travel and per diem funds which can be "repaid" from PFC's collected once legislation is passed authorizing the FAA to once again do so? Operations and AIP are different funds, I understand that. However, AIP is used to provide grants which is then used to create reimbursable agreements which is used to pay employees which when there's balances left over from the projects are recollected to be used elsewhere and so on. The point being that the financial picture is circular. So should the situation be wherein PFC's can be used to pay back the general (OPS) funds so that no financial hardship is passed on to those employees who are considered "excepted" in nature and then are expected to use personal funds to compete their jobs. The federal government is prohibited from accepting donations of labor or materials . . .

Title 5 C.F.R. Section 2635.201 - Overview. This subpart contains standards that prohibit an employee from
soliciting or accepting any gift from a prohibited source or given because of the employee's official position
unless the item is excluded from the definition of a gift or falls within one of the exceptions set forth in this
subpart.
A gift is defined as any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item
having monetary value. It includes services as well as gifts of training, transportation, local travel, lodgings, and
meals, whether provided in-kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance, or reimbursement after the expense
has been incurred.

In my opinion and by extension, the EMPLOYER as well as employee has the same constraints regarding the provisions of Title 5 mentioned above of which every federal employee is required to annually acknowledge regarding Ethics and Conduct as a federal employee.

How, in good conscience, can the head of our Department (and frankly our President) expect employees to respect and adhere to the law of the land when the federal government appears to be intentionally looking the other way regarding the services and costs associated with the employees who are expected to travel at personal cost in order to sustain the safety of our national airspace system? Obviously President Obama was serious when he stated - "another Washington-inflicted wound on America." In this case, lets be creative and find a way to use the power and authority vested in his position to mitigate that our employees (peers, colleagues, and friends) are not bled dry by this latest of continuing debacles in Congress.

V/R,
Gary
___________________________________________

Gary E. Nielsen
Manager, O'Hare International Airport
Modernization Program
ATO Central Service Center, FAA
Link to Central Service Center Website

Feedback to Central Service Center: 9-ATO-CSC/ASW/FAA

--------- FOR OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT USE ONLY --------

[Greg Principato]

Secretary LaHood, we here at ACI-NA applaud all your efforts to convince Congress to put the FAA back to work by passing a simple extension. But we think the fact that Congress left town without ensuring funding for the FAA is more than a shame, it’s downright irresponsible.

Congress left for vacation leaving airports, FAA employees and the construction industry up the proverbial creek without a paddle. Airports, large and small, are left without the funding needed to move forward on approved safety and security construction projects; projects which in the majority of cases have already been put out to bid. This doesn’t include the 200 projects where stop work orders that have left construction sites at airports empty and construction crews without paychecks.

You noted we’re already in the middle of the construction season but for many airports in the northern tier the construction season is nearly over and will be by the time Congress returns to work in September. Glacier International in Montana needed their Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds by August 1 so their runway project is now pushed back a year and at Denver International Airport snow season beings September 15th.

Congress’ leaving for vacation without ensuring airports had access to AIP funds means that design and construction workers and contractors won’t have jobs. In fact 220 construction jobs will not be created at Fresno’s Yosemite International because Congress left for vacation without finishing their job! That’s 220 jobs lost in an area where the unemployment rate is 16.8 percent!

Then there are the everyday things that the aviation industry relies on the FAA and its employees for – like approval for environmental and noise projects. Nothing sexy or press worthy there but it has a direct impact on the ability of every airport in this country to do their jobs.

It’s bad enough that Congress is enjoying vacation while FAA employees worry about how to pay the bills but Congress also left town without protecting the aviation trust fund. When the FAA’s operating authority expired so did its ability to collect taxes so the money passengers pay to help maintain the system when they buy their tickets is no longer collected. It is estimated that $1.2 billion that should have gone into the trust fund to be used to maintain and improve the aviation system will instead end up lining the pockets of the airlines – to the tune of $25 million a day - who raised their fares when the ticket tax expired.

[Cynthia Corbett]

Can't you could declare us all "essential" personnel? That would get us back on the job, and a better chance of being paid once this is all over.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001033852573]

THIS IS NOT GOOD - YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO BE WORKING FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE - YOU ARE TAKING TIME OFF FOR VACATION WITH PAY - WHAT ABOUT THE AMERICANS WHOM YOU HAVE STOP PAYING AND WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSE TO DO FOR THEIR FAMILIES WHILE YOU ARE OFF HAVING FUN.

GET BACK TO WORK WITHOUT PAY TILL THIS IS RESOVLED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Wendy M Greenfield]

I must express growing concern about the safety of the flying public and ground personnel at airports throughout the United States. Since Congresspeople have chosen to return to their respective districts without continuing funding for FAA maintenance, inspection and repair functions, amongst others, every flier, every airport worker and anyone on the ground in a flight path, is at ever-increasing risk from the effect of a potential major or minor failure. (We could look at the recent Delta taxiway incidents in Boston and JFK, NY or the breakup of the Caribbean flight originating in the US.)

Since safety has always been the priority of the Transportation system of the United States, I do not see how you have any choice other than to shut down the entire US flight system immediately. This action would render catastrophic failure impossible. If at some time in the future Congress should deem it appropriate to take up the issue of funding the FAA again in a form that meets with your approval, the air lanes could once again be opened with their customary and expected levels of safety.

Again, the safety and physical security of the flying public are at stake here. I sincerely hope that you, as Transportation Secretary, will do the right thing.

[Mary Dotson]

Dear Mr. Lahood,

This crisis is risking my job, as my company is not able to have the aircraft it manufactures certified for airworthiness. It's especially upsetting, since it's making a big investment in manufacturing not previously supplied by any manufacturers in jeopardy. What does it take US legislators to understand they are putting many jobs at risk that can more safely be exported to Europe? I was cheered by your call for recalling Congress, but I think that you have to put it where it hurts: suspend privilege parking at Reagan National Airport & put every Congress member on the No Fly list until this is resolved.

Unlike us, this won't cost them their livelihood, but it should provide necessary incentive.

[call centers]

I find comments such as this 'fast lane' article to reflect a political bias. You can state facts without couching an article to push blame to one political party - you quoted the President and Rep Hoyer - 2 Dems - potentially leaving an uninformed reader with the idea that the Republicans were the reason for the lack of authorization. If your intention was not that, then please choose your words more carefully next time.

__________

I agree with this comment. Anyway, you are right that we need to choose the words that we must tell to other people.

[Jenni Murphy]

Dear Secretary LaHood,

This was an extremely well written and necessary blog you posted. The fact that congress could knowingly walk away and take vacation while so many people are not getting paid over a 16 million dollar quibbling point while the government in turn is losing roughly 200 million dollars a week is reprehensible. I applaud you for having the backbone to take a stand for what is right and using your voice to speak up for workers who've been stuck holding the bag. If the American people don't wake up now and see that certain elected officials out there don't mind holding our country hostage while these same elected officials pay back the big money businesses and lobbyists who got them into office, nothing will. Thanks for giving a damn about "we the people" out here just trying to make a living and not letting the blowhards who strictly follow party lines at the expense of their brain cells and consciences twist this into something else. You care and that means something, at least to me.

[Carey Ragels]

Dear Adminstrator Babbitt and Secretary LaHood,

I truly do not understand how we can ask our Safety Inspectors to travel "on their own dime"? I do understand that of course we can do nothing that would jeopardize safety, however if a plane has to go uninspected and its grounded or an airport gets shut down because an UNPAID employee is unable to afford to do their job for free, I don't see that as jeoparizing safety. I see it as totally inconveniencing the folks that want to fly, but it doesn't physically harm them. It may be harse, but until someone outside of the FAA feels the impact of Congress' inability to perform their jobs they have no incentive to work out the issues. They aren't feeling the pain. The FAA's furloughed employees, the excepted employees required to work on their own dime and the construction workers laid off due to shut down projects, feel the pain but Congress doesn't, they are on vacation! We need to find a way for them to "walk a mile" in our shoes. And perhaps the way to best do that is to ensure they have to walk because they are unable to board a plane because its been grounded because there was no one available to inspect it. By having the inspectors continue to work, we are enabling the bad behavior of Congress. I think we need to show them some "tough love". Sincerely, Carey Ragels

[Mike Regan]

The nations safety is at risk. The Secretary needs to send a demand letter certifying this to both Houses of Congress, and requesting the President to call a special Session of Congress to address this immediately. Congress can spend all of August in DC till they get it done.

And the president can run as Harry Truman did against a dysfunctional Congress.

[Concerned Employee]

Thank God almighty that the FAA only has Air Traffic Controllers and Air Inspectors working to insure flying public safety...i guess everybody else in the FAA took leave for the year. You would think US Secretary of Transportation would know that. Apparently the controllers and inspectors are the only people left working in the FAA. I guess their unions are the ones with the most influence.

Concerned

[M Davis]

I have a simple suggestion that might speed congress up in resolving this issue. Put them all on the no-fly list. Makes sense to me, since they're screwing with the FAA - instead of 'No soup for you', they get 'No plane for you' - until they figure it out.

[bswhitman 98@yahoo.com]

Dear Mr.lahood.HR2553 was passed by the house.243-177.Mr.lahood the democrats are the ones stalling.SENTATOR ROCKEFELLER stated the SENATE would IGNORE HR2553.So PLEASE CALL HARRY REID and let him know he is HOLDING the AMERICANS HOSTAGE.

[Nic Evon]

Thank you Secretary LaHood for your plain spoken message that congress needs to abstain from their little summer vacations and settle this now for all of the people who've been left without paychecks. Those representatives in the House that are holding American workers hostage so that they can slip in their special interest add ons should be ashamed of themselves. You couldn't have said it better than you did; let's hope those few problem causers in congress (they know who they are) are listening and grow a conscience and stop letting big money make all the calls for our country.

[tessi]

Doesn't the public citizens of the USA have the right to recall congress and senate back to work?! We the people work hard to pay their salaries, so we expect them to resolve this issue before taking a vacation.

[gringo guide]

I saw your remarks on CNN Secretary LaHood, we sorely need more voices like yours in Washington. It's absolutely disgraceful that congress is taking off for 5 weeks of vacation whilst 75,000 American's livlihoods are in limbo.

[David]

There should be a new bill introduced that prevents US congress to go on holidays in the middle of big decision.