—Nearly 90,000 American Construction Workers Will See Their Paychecks Halted, 3,600 FAA Aviation Experts Furloughed to Appease Tea Party Extremists—
Washington, D.C.– The House Republican leadership today will shut down major parts of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at midnight to appease Tea Party extremists, a risky bet that will jeopardize $2.5 billion in construction projects, 87,000 American construction jobs, furlough 3,600 FAA aviation engineers, safety analysts, and other career professionals in 35 states, and cost $200 million per week in lost revenue.
“By senselessly shutting down the FAA tonight at midnight, the House Republican leadership is willing to lay off tens of thousands of middle class American construction workers and jeopardize billions of dollars in airport construction simply to score a few political points for Tea Party extremists,” said U.S. Representative Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “Republicans are holding hostage America’s aviation system with their “my way or the runway” shotgun approach to negotiating a long-term FAA reauthorization. This is no way to run the best aviation system in the world.”
On April 7, 2011, the Senate requested the House meet in a conference to resolve the differences between the House- and Senate-passed long-term FAA reauthorization bills. More than 100 days later, the House has taken no action to agree to a conference. Despite claims by Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL) that such differences could be resolved “in 20 minutes,” the House Republican leadership is holding the negotiations hostage and has been unwilling to negotiate the differences between the bills in an open and transparent process.
“Instead of working through the weekend as they originally announced they would do, it is inexcusable that they are now allowing their Members to use America’s world-class aviation system to fly home mere hours before they force the FAA to shut down,” said Rahall. “While Republicans are taking the weekend off by choice, nearly 90,000 American construction workers will see their projects and paychecks come to a halt. It is unconscionable that the House Republican leadership is playing chicken with our aviation system, simply to shill for a Tea Party that is more focused on the next election than on America’s next generation.”
In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday, Rahall and U.S. Representative Jerry Costello (D-IL), top Democrat on the Aviation Subcommittee, called on the Speaker to appoint a conference committee to move the process forward in an open and transparent fashion.
“We cannot afford to play politics with construction projects and paychecks for middle class Americans because the future of our aviation system is simply too important,” said Rahall. “I commend Senator Jay Rockefeller for his willingness to reach an agreement that would put Americans to work and improve the safety of our skies, even when the House Republican leadership chose to play politics and refused to negotiate.”
“Make no mistake, the FAA is shutting down on the House Republicans’ watch,” said Costello. “The American people can see this for what it is - another example of Republicans legislating their way or no way. Instead of negotiating our differences and passing a long-term FAA authorization bill, the Republicans would rather shut down the FAA. This does not create jobs or help our economic recovery. The Republicans are taking their ball and going home, literally, while thousands of workers lose a paycheck. This is not responsible leadership.”
The Republican-led FAA shutdown that begins at midnight tonight will lead to construction jobs lost in every state and FAA aviation experts furloughed in 35 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
House Republican Leadership
Jeopardizes More than 90,000 Airport Construction and FAA Employee Jobs
July 22, 2011
|
|
Airport Construction |
Airport Construction Jobs Lost |
FAA Employee |
Total |
|
Alabama |
$32,400,000 |
1,127 |
1,127 |
|
|
Alaska |
$69,700,000 |
2,424 |
79 |
2,503 |
|
Arizona |
$35,100,000 |
1,221 |
1 |
1,222 |
|
Arkansas |
$25,900,000 |
901 |
901 |
|
|
California |
$131,500,000 |
4,573 |
206 |
4,779 |
|
Colorado |
$34,200,000 |
1,189 |
27 |
1,216 |
|
Connecticut |
$4,700,000 |
163 |
1 |
164 |
|
Delaware |
$800,000 |
28 |
28 |
|
|
District of Columbia |
$300,000 |
10 |
1,016 |
1,026 |
|
Florida |
$88,000,000 |
3,061 |
27 |
3,088 |
|
Georgia |
$67,100,000 |
2,334 |
336 |
2,670 |
|
Hawaii |
$21,300,000 |
741 |
5 |
746 |
|
Idaho |
$17,500,000 |
609 |
2 |
611 |
|
Illinois |
$90,300,000 |
3,141 |
145 |
3,286 |
|
Indiana |
$19,400,000 |
675 |
7 |
682 |
|
Iowa |
$41,100,000 |
1,429 |
1,429 |
|
|
Kansas |
$41,900,000 |
1,457 |
15 |
1,472 |
|
Kentucky |
$18,700,000 |
650 |
650 |
|
|
Louisiana |
$33,500,000 |
1,165 |
1,165 |
|
|
Maine |
$12,700,000 |
442 |
442 |
|
|
Maryland |
$9,100,000 |
316 |
7 |
323 |
|
Massachusetts |
$17,900,000 |
623 |
55 |
678 |
|
Michigan |
$36,400,000 |
1,266 |
22 |
1,288 |
|
Minnesota |
$36,200,000 |
1,259 |
18 |
1,277 |
|
Mississippi |
$34,600,000 |
1,203 |
10 |
1,213 |
|
Missouri |
$24,600,000 |
856 |
80 |
936 |
|
Montana |
$18,700,000 |
650 |
3 |
653 |
|
Nebraska |
$21,900,000 |
762 |
762 |
|
|
Nevada |
$36,000,000 |
1,252 |
1 |
1,253 |
|
New Hampshire |
$3,700,000 |
129 |
42 |
171 |
|
New Jersey |
$44,700,000 |
1,555 |
651 |
2,206 |
|
New Mexico |
$25,400,000 |
883 |
4 |
887 |
|
New York |
$62,600,000 |
2,177 |
127 |
2,304 |
|
North Carolina |
$45,600,000 |
1,586 |
1,586 |
|
|
North Dakota |
$22,800,000 |
793 |
7 |
800 |
|
Ohio |
$38,900,000 |
1,353 |
5 |
1,358 |
|
Oklahoma |
$54,800,000 |
1,906 |
133 |
2,039 |
|
Oregon |
$16,500,000 |
574 |
574 |
|
|
Pennsylvania |
$28,300,000 |
984 |
25 |
1,009 |
|
Rhode Island |
$1,100,000 |
38 |
38 |
|
|
South Carolina |
$30,700,000 |
1,068 |
1,068 |
|
|
South Dakota |
$25,700,000 |
894 |
2 |
896 |
|
Tennessee |
$34,700,000 |
1,207 |
13 |
1,220 |
|
Texas |
$72,100,000 |
2,508 |
267 |
2,775 |
|
Utah |
$10,100,000 |
351 |
5 |
356 |
|
Vermont |
$4,800,000 |
167 |
167 |
|
|
Virginia |
$40,500,000 |
1,409 |
29 |
1,438 |
|
Washington |
$37,900,000 |
1,318 |
215 |
1,533 |
|
West Virginia |
$10,800,000 |
376 |
3 |
379 |
|
Wisconsin |
$25,300,000 |
880 |
880 |
|
|
Wyoming |
$15,900,000 |
553 |
553 |
|
|
Puerto Rico |
$15,900,000 |
553 |
3 |
556 |
|
Other Territories |
$9,900,000 |
344 |
344 |
|
|
Discretionary Grants |
$800,000,000 |
27,823 |
27,823 |
|
|
TOTAL |
$2,500,200,000 |
86,954 |
3,594 |
90,548 |
|
Note: This table was prepared by Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Democratic Staff based on technical assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration. The Airport Construction Jobs Lost column is based on the 2007 Federal-aid Highway Administration model on the correlation between infrastructure investment and employment: $1 billion of Federal-aid Highway investment creates or sustains 34,779 jobs over a seven-year period. |
||||
Attachment: Chart of FAA furloughs by city
Attachment: House Republican Leadership Jeopardizes More than 90,000 Airport Construction and FAA Employee Jobs
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