'Congress needs to pass an FAA bill to prevent further economic damage,' Ray LaHood said. FAA says airport projects stopped

Construction projects at airports across the country have been halted because a bill to extend the Federal Aviation Administration’s operating authority is stuck in Congress, officials said on Monday.

“Construction workers across America will lose their jobs and local communities will be hurt the longer this goes on. Congress needs to pass an FAA bill to prevent further economic damage,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. “This is no way to run the best aviation system in the world.”


Congress failed to pass a measure before last Friday’s deadline because lawmakers are deadlocked over two partisan issues – subsidies for rural airports and the unionization rights of employees. Republicans want to end the subsidies and make it harder for airline workers to unionize, putting them at loggerheads with Democrats.

Michigan, to cite one example, stands to lose $36 million in federal funding as long as the stand-off continues, according to the Detroit News. And work was set to begin Saturday on demolishing a control tower at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, but amid the FAA partial shutdown that project has been put on hold, and the 40 workers hired were told not to show up, according to FAA administrator Randy Babbit.

Four thousand FAA employees also have been furloughed, officials said. But workers essential to air travel safety, such as controllers, are continuing on the job.

Meanwhile, the lack of an authorizing resolution also means the FAA will not be able to collect about $200 million a week in air-travel taxes. That could have been a boon to consumers, but the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that airlines are instead raising fares.

Congress has extended the FAA’s authority with short term mandates since it expired in 2007, and LaHood is asking lawmakers to deliver a long-term mandate for the agency.