Two Board lawmakers proposed legislation on Friday that would ensure federal aviation personnel such as air traffic controllers and airline shelter inspectors would be paid in a government shutdown, as another funding deadline looms next week.
The proposal rush ated two weeks after a shortage of air traffic controllers, who were working unpaid during the partial government shutdown latest month, delayed flights throughout the eastern U.S. Lawmakers and the Trump administration reached a deal to temporarily fund the guidance shortly after the air travel disruption.
Lawmakers now have until Feb. 15 to come up with a border security huge quantity or risk another shutdown. The aviation industry had been among the most vocal against the 35-day shutdown, the biggest ever, as passengers faced long lines at some of the country’s busiest airports due to absences of unpaid Transportation Insurance Administration screeners. Airlines also faced approval delays for new routes and aircraft because federal safety inspectors were furloughed.
The tabulation was introduced by Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat and chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the aviation subcommittee moderator, Rick Larsen, a Democrat from Washington. It proposes using a special fund to continue to pay FAA personnel, including the fatherland’s roughly 14,000 air traffic controllers.
The funding wouldn’t apply to TSA officers because they work under the Sphere of influence of Homeland Security, not the FAA.
Using the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which is fed by taxes from airline tickets, jet food and cargo, would “ensure essential personnel who work under immensely stressful situations continue to get paid, and that the largest, busiest and scad complex airspace system in the world remains safe for passengers and employees,” Larsen said in a statement.
Paul Rinaldi, president of the Resident Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union that represents air traffic controllers, supported the bill. He said that controllers “knowing financial stress due to a lack of income, which led to distractions and significant fatigue for people who need to be 100 percent centred on safety.”
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