Message Delivered At Shut-Down Worksite At LaGuardia
Airport
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Aviation
Administration Administrator Randy Babbitt joined with local
contractors and construction workers at LaGuardia Airport on Monday
to demand that Congress pass an FAA bill before getting on
airplanes to fly away for vacation.
Ray LaHood, Randy Babbitt
Since Congress allowed the FAA’s last extension to expire
on July 22, dozens of construction projects across the country have
been issued “stop work orders,” including a $6 million
project to demolish the decommissioned FAA Airport Traffic Control
Tower at LaGuardia International Airport that employed 40 New York
area workers. Other workers nationwide have similarly been forced
to stop work on critical airport modernization projects, and nearly
4,000 FAA employees, many needed to oversee these projects, have
been furloughed.
“Members of Congress should not get on a plane to fly home
for vacation without passing an FAA bill and putting thousands of
people back to work,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray
LaHood. “Congress needs to do its job for the good of these
workers, for the good of our economy and for the good of
America’s aviation system.”
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said, “Every day this goes
on, we fall further behind. We need our 4,000 FAA employees and
tens of thousands of construction workers back on the job so we can
get critical projects moving again while it's still construction
season. Congress must act quickly before leaving for the August
recess.”
“It wasn't easy telling my construction workers we've been
shut down because of a fiscal situation in Washington,” said
Luca Toscano, Vice President of Paul J. Scariano Inc. and
contractor on the LaGuardia airport project. “Some of these
guys just got back to work after a long time, and their benefits
have all expired. So for them this is like running into a brick
wall, and they're asking me, 'How do we explain this to our
families?' I don't know what to say to them.”
“No doubt there are important policy questions that need to
be resolved with the aviation legislation," said Stephen E.
Sandherr chief executive officer of the Associated General
Contractors of America. "But construction workers shouldn't have to
suffer because Washington hasn't figured out a way to work out its
differences.”
“Because Congress has failed to pass an FAA extension, New
York has lost access to millions of dollars for airport
construction projects that would employ hundreds of construction
workers. These have been tough times for the construction industry
and workers have been hardest hit. For the sake of workers across
the country who have already lost a week's pay because of
Congress’ inaction, we need an extension now,” said
Paul Fernandes, Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater
New York Chief of Staff.
Without a reauthorization, the FAA is unable to get roughly $2.5
billion out the door for airport projects in all 50 states that
could put thousands of people to work in good paying jobs. In
addition to the nearly 4,000 FAA employees in 35 states, and the
District of Columbia and Puerto Rico who have been furloughed and
forced to go without pay, Associated General Contractors (AGC)
estimates that 70,000 construction workers and workers in related
fields have been affected.
The FAA’s previous extension expired at midnight on
Friday, July 22. Since then, more than 200 “stop work
orders” have been issued for airport construction projects
and contracts around the country. While the flying public will be
unaffected and safety will not be compromised, stopping work on
these projects will significantly increase the ultimate costs of
construction for taxpayers and could delay important programs.