Congress threatens furloughs for FAA employees

Nearly 4,000 Federal Aviation Administration employees could be furloughed if lawmakers fail to pass an extension of the agency's funding before Friday.

Congress is considering the latest in a series of 21 short-term measures to keep FAA running. The current stopgap bill expires Friday. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., last week introduced legislation that would extend funding through Sept. 16, but lawmakers are at an impasse over several provisions in the bill.

Republican lawmakers Tuesday told members of the House Rules Committee that, should funding expire and force an FAA shutdown, air traffic controllers would be deemed essential personnel and would continue to work. Other FAA employees could face furloughs beginning July 23, however.

"We are going to be forced to furlough valuable FAA employees unless this situation is resolved quickly," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a statement. "These employees do everything from getting money out the door for airport construction projects, to airport safety planning and NextGen [air traffic control system] research. We need them at work."

According to the Transportation Department, expiration of FAA funding means that tax dollars will not be deposited into the trust fund used to pay employees.

The House and Senate are at odds over a labor provision in the House version that would overturn a National Mediation Board decision making it easier for rail and aviation workers to unionize. In addition, Mica's bill eliminates subsidies for airline service to airports located less than 90 miles from a medium or large hub, which has upset some lawmakers from rural areas.

Obama administration officials urged lawmakers to pass a clean extension of FAA funding to avoid a possible shutdown.

"H.R. 2553 includes controversial provisions that, because they have not been negotiated, needlessly threaten critical FAA programs and jeopardize thousands of public and private sector jobs," the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement. "Without timely passage of a clean extension, all of FAA's capital accounts (grants-in-aid for airports, facilities and equipment, and research, engineering and development) would be shut down and approximately 4,000 employees would be furloughed."