New Democrats Call for a Clean FAA Extension to End Shutdown
FAA shutdown puts American jobs, economy in jeopardy
Today, leaders of the New Democrat Coalition Critical Infrastructure and Manufacturing Task Force called on Republicans to reconvene the House and put forward a clean extension of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization to get Americans back to work and end the wasteful use of taxpayer dollars.
New Dems know that in order to compete globally our air transport system must continue to be the safest, most efficient and most reliable in the world, but every day this shutdown continues private sector jobs and American businesses - small and large- are put at risk. Under the leadership of the Task Force Co-Chairs, Representatives Rick Larsen (WA-2), Jason Altmire (PA-4) and Laura Richardson (CA-37), the New Democrats released an agenda for improving U.S. infrastructure and strengthening manufacturing. Included in the Task Force's agenda is a call for the reauthorization of the FAA.
"It's ironic. The Republican Party cried 'jobs, jobs, jobs' all the way to the ballot box, but has failed to produce a single jobs bill in eight months. Now, they've gone a step further –letting their fierce ideology trump the need to maintain and create American jobs. The time has come for Republican Leadership to reconvene the House and pass a clean FAA bill. Tens of thousands of jobs and the health of our economy are at stake," said Rep. Joe Crowley, Chair of the New Democrat Coalition.
"The current shutdown of the FAA is irresponsible and is costing Americans 90,000 jobs and over $1 billion in lost revenue. Construction workers aren't getting paid, small businesses aren't getting their contracts, and airport employees were forced to take furloughs. It is shocking and unacceptable that Congress left DC before reaching a compromise on this bill," said Rep. Larsen, Vice-Chair of the New Democrat Coalition.
"I am extremely disappointed that this petty partisanship is costing us to lose tens of thousands of jobs when unemployment rates are already skyrocketing and important FAA operations are in jeopardy," Rep. Altmire said. "Congress must do everything in its power to resolve this issue as soon as possible. I am ready to do whatever it takes to get this extension completed because so much is at stake, and I urge my colleagues to get on board to finalize an agreement."
'"With our economy still struggling and the unemployment rate not budging, it is the height of irresponsibility to put thousands more Americans out of work. We need to move forward and get workers in the aviation industry back on the job. Now simply is not the time to play games with American jobs just to satisfy the special interests. Congress must come to a solution that will get people back to work as soon as possible to avoid making a bad situation worse," said Rep. Richardson.
As a result of the shutdown, hundreds of safety and air-traffic related projects have come to a halt across the country, putting almost 90,000 private-sector construction jobs in jeopardy and forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for $200 million in lost revenue per week.
Reps. Larsen, Altmire and Richardson joined their Democratic colleagues in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to introduce a clean FAA extension to end the standoff once and for all. H.R. 2644, The Aviation Jobs and Safety Act of 2011 reauthorizes the FAA through September 30, 2011 to ensure our nation's air travelers are protected today, paving the way for a long-term reauthorization.
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