[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 27, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4943-S4944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          FAA Reauthorization

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, we all know we are running against the 
deadline of Tuesday, August 2, on raising the debt of our Nation, and 
there is a real risk that if we don't make that deadline on Tuesday, 
there will be checks from the Federal Government that will not be able 
to go out. The number of 70 million is used as the number of checks 
written each month by the Federal Government that go to employees, that 
go to contractors, that go to recipients of certain benefits.
  Let me talk about 4,000 Federal workers who already have been 
furloughed. It doesn't have to do with raising the debt ceiling; it has 
to do with the failure of the House of Representatives to send a clean 
extension of the Federal Aviation Administration--the FAA 
reauthorization bill--for us to consider. As a result of the failure to 
pass the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration or to 
pass a short-term extension of the FAA, 4,000 workers at the Federal 
Aviation Administration have been put on furlough. That in and of 
itself has a major impact on our economy. That is 4,000 Americans who 
are no longer receiving a paycheck. It affects people who work for the 
FAA in such fields as safety engineers, computer scientists, 
aeronautics engineers, physical scientists--the list goes on and on--
jeopardizing the progress we have made in keeping our airways safe and 
jeopardizing the convenience to those who travel by air. Many of those 
workers live in the State of Maryland, so it is having a direct effect 
on the State I have the honor of representing in the Senate.
  It goes beyond just the Federal workforce who have been put on 
furlough as a result of the failure to pass a short-term extension of 
the FAA. It also goes to construction contracts that are funded through 
aviation funds. At many airports around the Nation, there have now been 
stop orders on construction of runways, construction of towers, and 
construction of other improvements that are important to keep our 
airports modern and safe and convenient in handling the increased 
number of air passengers.
  Let me tell my colleagues that, yes, it affects those large 
contractors who are doing the work of the Federal Government. It is 
going to affect their payrolls and their workforce, but it also affects 
a lot of small businesses in Maryland and around the Nation.
  Let me give one example. Chappy Corporation is an electrical and 
mechanical operations small business specializing in airport landing 
systems and lighting. Chappy Corporation is the lead contractor 
implementing BWI's--the main airport in Maryland--ASDE-X project, a 
runway safety mechanism that enables air traffic controllers to detect 
potential runway conflicts by providing detailed coverage of movement 
on runways and taxiways. For the safety of all of us, I hope we would 
want to move forward with those types of improvements in our major 
airports in the Nation, including the one which most Marylanders use--
BWI Airport. Chappy Corporation has been told to stop work on this 
important aviation safety project, thus decreasing their value and 
making it more difficult to make payroll. It is already tough for small 
companies out there today, and now, because of the failure of the House 
to send over to us a clean extension of the FAA bill, which we have 
done many times in the past, we have a company such as Chappy which is 
running the risk of its strength to continue with its current workforce 
and to do important work at airports for safety.
  It also goes beyond the Federal employees and the contractor 
employees who are not getting a paycheck and the contractors whose work 
has been stopped and they are not getting their construction contract 
payments. It also affects the Federal Aviation Administration's 
revenues. They collect a lot of revenue. There is a ticket tax. When a 
person buys an airline ticket, they pay a tax that goes into the 
Federal Aviation Administration's funds which are used for improvement 
projects at our airports. That amounts to about $30 million that will 
not be collected. What happens to that money? Well, we lose it in the 
Federal Treasury. People say: Well, maybe it will make it less 
expensive for people to travel. But that is not the case.
  Let me quote a headline from Reuters: ``Airlines Raise Fares as Taxes 
Lapse.''
  I am quoting:

       Many U.S. airlines have raised fares in recent days to take 
     advantage of a lapse in U.S. ticket tax collection after 
     Congress failed last week to fully fund the Federal Aviation 
     Administration's budget, but passengers are not likely to 
     notice any price difference.
       JetBlue Airways Corp. and Southwest Airlines Co. began 
     raising ticket prices by at least 7.5 percent on Friday, 
     according to FareCompare.com. Other airlines, such as Delta 
     Air Lines and United Continental Holdings Inc., boosted 
     prices on Saturday.

  So we can't collect the 7.5-percent tax and the airlines are 
pocketing the money. The people who are purchasing tickets are still 
paying the same amount even though none of that money is going to 
improve our airports. It makes no sense whatsoever.
  All of these occurrences--the Federal workers not getting a paycheck 
and being put on furlough, contractors not getting paid and 
construction work not being done, revenues not being collected that are 
necessary for the Federal Government--are hurting our economy. All are 
making it more difficult for our recovery.
  Why has this happened? The reason, quite frankly, is that we have not 
been able to pass the reauthorization bill. We passed the 
reauthorization bill early in the session, the Senate did. The House 
passed a bill about 100 days ago but has refused to appoint conferees 
to work out the differences. Then the House sends over--because we 
didn't meet the deadline--an extension bill that includes a partisan 
labor provision, an antilabor provision. Now, that should never be in 
an extension bill. It shouldn't be in any legislation. But it should be 
negotiated between the conferees of the House and Senate so we can get 
a reauthorization bill done. They shouldn't use an extension bill in 
order to get that done, and that is what they have done. As a result, 
we have the consequences of Federal workers being furloughed, 
contractors not being paid, and revenues necessary for our airport 
improvements not being collected.

[[Page S4944]]

  So what should we do? What do we need to do? Well, we need to first 
pass a short-term extension, a clean short-term extension without these 
killer amendments attached to allow our workforce to be able to work 
and to get their paychecks, to allow contractors to continue the work 
they are doing, and to allow the government to collect the revenue 
necessary to keep our airports modern. That is the first thing we 
should do.
  Secondly, we need to negotiate in good faith between the House and 
the Senate conferees so we can pass the Federal Aviation Administration 
reauthorization bill. That bill contains many very important 
provisions, including what we call NextGen, which is the way in which 
we can operate our air service in a much more efficient way, using less 
fuel, less time, and helping our economy. The FAA reauthorization bill 
is estimated to create hundreds of thousands of jobs for our country. 
We need to get that done. So we need to negotiate the bill, get that 
done, and all of that will help create more jobs for our community.
  I urge my colleagues, particularly those in the House, to send us a 
clean extension bill, negotiate in good faith, and let's get the FAA 
bill done.
  Actually, I see the ranking member of that committee, our colleague 
from Texas, who may wish to talk about it or some other issue.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I am here to talk about the 
renomination of FBI Director Mueller, but I certainly heard my 
colleague from Maryland, and I agree we must pass a clean extension of 
the FAA. We are losing the revenue, and we are losing the capability 
for projects that are ongoing to continue. Work has stopped at many of 
the airports that have building and repair projects that are supported 
by the FAA.
  Honestly, the House needs to send a clean extension. There is a clean 
extension pending in the Senate. It has been objected to by one Member. 
This is not the way to go forward. I happen to agree with much of what 
the House wants to do, but not in this way. We have to put that in the 
context of the whole bill, which we certainly should be doing, and I 
hope the House will send us a clean extension so there will not be 
another weekend of disruption and people can get on with the projects.
  I come to the floor today to speak about FBI Director Robert Mueller. 
He has been FBI Director since 2001. During a critical time when our 
country has experienced such major leadership changes on our national 
security team, this nomination offers the necessary stability and 
continuity from a proven leader who has wide support.
  Director Mueller has strong bipartisan support. He was appointed on 
August 2, 2001--just before the 9/11 tragedy--by President Bush, and he 
began serving a week before the September 11 attacks. His term is said 
to expire next week on August 2.
  The FBI has never experienced a larger transformation than while 
under his leadership, adding counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and 
cyber security to the Bureau's traditional crime-fighting mission. In 
the 10 years Mr. Mueller has been Director of the FBI, he has worked 
tirelessly to ensure that no international terrorist attacks have 
occurred on U.S. soil since 9/11, and there have been several plots 
that have been uncovered and kept from occurring.
  Director Mueller has ensured that the FBI is a full member of the 
U.S. intelligence community and serves as a critical and singular link 
between the intelligence and law enforcement communities in the United 
States. He served our Nation with valor and integrity as a marine in 
Vietnam and as a Federal prosecutor. He answered the call to service 
from President Bush to be FBI Director and is once again answering the 
call by agreeing to serve 2 more years under President Obama. He is an 
admirable public servant, and I urge his swift confirmation.