Dozens of airport construction projects around the country are on hold and thousands of workers are furloughed because Congress has not passed legislation to keep the Federal Aviation Administration operating, the Associated Press reported Monday.
The FAA’s operating authority expired at midnight Friday, and nearly 4,000 FAA employees in 35 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have been furloughed, AP said.
“I said it on Friday, and I'll say it again: This is no way to operate the best aviation system in the world,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement on DOT’s website. “Congress needs to come back to Washington and pass an FAA bill.”
Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he did not see any progress toward a resolution that would end the shutdown.
Air traffic controllers remain on the job, as are FAA employees who inspect planes’ safety and test pilots, AP reported.
But airlines’ authority to collect federal ticket taxes has expired, costing the agency about $30 million a day in lost revenue, AP said, citing FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. That money goes into a trust fund.
Long-term funding authority for the FAA expired in 2007. Unable to agree on new long-term funding legislation for the agency, Congress has kept the FAA operating through a series of 20 short-term extension bills, AP reported.
