Obama Urges Congress to Resolve FAA Impasse by End of Week
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President Barack Obama accused Congress of playing politics with the Federal Aviation Administration’s funding and urged lawmakers to return to Washington this week to end an impasse that has led the agency to furlough 4,000 workers.
The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate finished voting on legislation this week and recessed for the month of August without extending the FAA’s funding authority, which expired at midnight July 22. That idled about 70,000 construction-related workers and furloughed 4,000 FAA employees. The FAA also is forgoing $28.6 million in aviation taxes each day the deadlock continues. That would add up to $1.3 billion by the time Congress resumes legislative business on Sept. 7.