Latest Temporary Funding Extension Ends September 16

Members of at least four aviation employee unions rallied Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport Wednesday morning, calling on members of Congress returning from their summer break to immediately pass another FAA funding bill, before the current extension runs out on September 16. The Hill reports the Air Line Pilots Association, National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Association of Flight Attendants and Allied Pilots Associations were all scheduled to have representation at the event.

The existing, temporary funding measure was approved after an impasse between Republicans in the House of Representatives, who sought cuts in subsidies for airline service to some small markets, and Democrats in the Senate, who wanted more power for unions to organize, could not agree on another extension. The agency's shutdown, which lasted 13 days in July and August, idled about 4,000 FAA employees and an estimated 70,000 construction workers at federally-funded airport projects around the country.

If Congress passes another short-term extension of FAA funding, it will be the 22nd in a row. The FAA has not had long-term funding in place since 2007.

FMI: www.faa.gov