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LAX remodel will stop unless Congress passes FAA spending bill, transportation secretary says
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood waits for the start of a Senate Budget Committee hearing on March 3, 2011 in Washington, DC. The committee is heard testimony from Secretary LaHood on president Obama's FY 2012 budget request for the Transportation Department.
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LAX remodel will stop unless Congress passes FAA spending bill, transportation secretary says
LAX remodel will stop unless Congress passes FAA spending bill, transportation secretary says
The Federal Aviation Administration is set to run out of money tonight at midnight. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wants Congress to pass a funding bill to prevent that.
Congress has passed nearly two dozen temporary spending bills for the FAA over the past four years. But the latest version from the GOP-led House cuts federal subsidies to smaller regional airports in the districts of three Senate Democrats. It also makes it tougher for workers to unionize.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says without a new authorization bill, construction projects like the remodeling of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX would stop.
"In California," he says, "the projects amount to $131 million. And 203 FAA employees in California will be furloughed this evening. That means they won’t be getting a paycheck. We have the best aviation system in the world. This is not the way to run it!"
Air traffic controllers would stay on the job and air travel is not expected to be disrupted.
The House of Representatives has already left town, so it’s unlikely any new authorization bill will be considered before Monday.
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