The Senate Passes Bill to End FAA Furloughs Just in Time to Fly Home

[liberal N proud]

In a marathon session before a weeklong recess, Senators finally found a way to agree on something Thursday night, when they passed a bill to end flight controller furloughs. Thanks to the sequester, the Federal Aviation Administration has to figure out a way to save $637 million before September 30, so cuts must be made. The furloughs kicked in this week, leaving many airports short on air traffic controllers and contributing to thousands of delays. Then there's the safety risk on top of that. Big mess. However, the Senate's new bill would allow the FAA to move the $253 million it needs to avoid furloughs from its $400 million-strong new airport fund to make up the difference.

This is great news for travelers. And would you believe that people are actually saying nice things about the Senate? For once, the do-nothing Congress did something that will actually make everybody's lives better. They failed to do that last week, when a series of much-anticipated gun control measures fizzled following a confusing vote and filibuster. This earned the upper house a week's worth of lambasting. (Jon Stewart did it best.) Of course, the Senate's been irking Americans for a long time, which is part of the reason that the approval rating of Congress plummeted to its lowest level ever a few months ago.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/04/senate-passes-bill-end-faa-furloughs-just-time-fly-home/64610/

Everyone feels good, but we know the only reason the Senate passed this is so they don't have to wait for their flight out of Washington.

[mucifer]

1. evil bastards!

This really pisses me off. It only matters when it affects THEM.

Let the rest of the sequester go on and on and on and on.

Poor things no longer have to wait in line every other week when they go on vacation!


GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

[Cirque du So-What]

2. Amazing, isn't it?

Gridlock can be broken in a snap of the fingers when their interests are threatened.

[ProSense]

3. Yup: Senate easily approves fix for flight delays

Senate easily approves fix for flight delays

By Steve Benen

The modern Senate has earned its unflattering reputation. As abuses became more common and norms were abandoned, the once-venerated institution became a lumbering, dysfunctional, and inefficient mess.

But when it really wants to, the Senate can move with lightning speed.

The Senate moved quickly Thursday evening to help ease the Federal Aviation Administration's ability to handle automatic spending cuts set forth in the sequester.

Senators unanimously approved the "Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013" -- a patch to fix the deep cuts that have furloughed air traffic controllers and delayed flights across the country.

The bill gives the FAA authority to spend up to $253 million of money already in the FAA's budget -- but not allocated to pay for other things -- to keep employees on the job and make sure more flights are on time.

The measure didn't even face a Republican filibuster -- it just passed by unanimous consent. It will now move to the House, where it's scheduled to be brought to the floor today. It will be considered on something called the "suspension calendar," which means it'll need a two-thirds majority to pass, but proponents appear optimistic.

To clarify an important detail, the "Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013" does not allocate funds to replace the budget cuts and end the furloughs, but rather, gives the FAA the authority to move around other funds within its existing budget to make up the difference. In this sense, it's a win for Republicans -- Democrats have argued that when it comes to ending the sequestration fiasco, Congress should either turn it off or replace it with a balanced compromise. The GOP line, meanwhile, has been to put the onus on the Obama administration to make the cuts work. It's a relatively tiny slice of the pie, but the FAA fix is in line with the Republican approach.

So why did Democrats go along? Because they were just looking to solve this problem quickly, and this was the path of least resistance.

- more -

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/04/26/17927905-senate-easily-approves-fix-for-flight-delays

[DCBob]

4. What about the House? Those maniacs may not approve this.

I think they love chaos.

[liberal N proud]

6. I bet they do as they want to fly home without delay as well.

It is all about their key interest and nothing more!

[DCBob]

7. yeah, you are probably right.

amazing how quickly things get done when members of congress are personally affected.

[City Lights]

5. Scum suckers!

They make me sick!