[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 119 (Monday, August 1, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 2644, THE AVIATION JOBS AND SAFETY ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. LAURA RICHARDSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, August 1, 2011

  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the 4,000 workers 
of the Federal Aviation Administration who were furloughed on July 
22nd. For this reason, I urge the immediate passage of H.R. 2644, the 
Aviation Jobs and Safety Act of 2011, which will provide a clean 
extension and end this nonsense.
  Republicans claim to focus on jobs, but time and time again, we see 
them cut, delay, and disable every program that comes their way. The 
partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration has become the 
primary tactic of the Republican Party, which would rather send people 
home than send them to work.
  The failure to pass a clean FAA extension is the latest example of 
this tactic. Since 2007, Congress has passed 20 short term extensions 
without controversial provisions. Breaking that precedent, House 
Republican leadership decided to attach policy riders to weaken unions 
and kill jobs, knowing full well it would never be approved by the 
Senate.
  Mr. Speaker, the 4,000 furloughed FAA employees are non-partisan 
career civil servants who in many cases have spent more than two 
decades working to provide the public with safe, modern and efficient 
air travel in this country.
  The Republican-led FAA shutdown has caused the FAA to issue 217 stop-
work orders on $11 billion worth of air traffic control and safety-
related contracts, and that number will continue to grow.
  Because of this, nearly 86,000 construction jobs are now in jeopardy 
around the country. That's 90,000 people waiting to work, needing to 
pay their mortgages and feed their families.
  Contracts are waiting to be honored and work is waiting to be done, 
but the Republicans are held up on issues such as subsidies to rural 
airports, which cost about $200 million a year.
  Mr. Speaker, in just 10 days, the FAA shutdown has already cost the 
American taxpayer $300 million. Every day the Republican leadership 
holds out costs this country $30 million in lost airport fees.
  Also troubling is how the airlines have reacted to the FAA shutdown. 
Instead of passing cost savings on to air travelers, almost every one 
of the airlines raised their ticket prices and pocketed the money. The 
situation was there and they took advantage of it.
  My Republican colleagues are fond of saying that cutting taxes and 
dismantling government bureaucracies will streamline business and 
result in greater value to the consumer, but I fail to see the airlines 
acting on that principle.
  On July 26th I joined my Democratic colleagues in the House 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in introducing H.R. 2644, 
which will end this job-killing standoff immediately. I call on my 
Republican colleagues to pass a clean extension so we can return to the 
business of negotiating a long-term authorization bill.
  Mr. Speaker, it is incredibly unfair to hold thousands of American 
jobs hostage while we battle over promises we have already made and 
signed into law. This is exactly the same tactic that we saw 
Republicans employ with their threatened shutdown of the federal 
government in March and their senseless debate over the debt-ceiling 
which threatened the entire economy.
  I remain committed to passing an authorization bill that adequately 
funds critical components of our transportation infrastructure, such as 
the implementation of the Next Generation Air Traffic Control system, 
and I am concerned that reckless cuts necessitate the firing of many 
safety personnel and put the flying public at risk. Right now the 
workers who should be moving these projects forward are sitting at home 
worried about the money they are not able to earn.
  Mr. Speaker, we must pass H.R. 2644 immediately. Every day we wait 
costs our country money. This pointless shutdown erodes confidence of 
the hundreds of small businesses who contract for the federal 
government, and puts nearly 90,000 jobs in needless jeopardy.
  I urge my colleagues to for a clean funding extension of the FAA 
before we leave Washington for the district work period. Thousands of 
jobs and livelihoods hang in the balance.

                          ____________________