Saturday, May 03, 2008
Dep't of Priorities (FAA Reauthorization Edition)
by Tom Bozzo
Harry Reid characterizes this behavior appropriately:
Via Traffic World (subscription required), the FAA reauthorization bill has stalled in the Senate over Republican objections to non-aviation spending in the bill:
Senate Republicans, as well as the White House, object to sections in the bill that would add $3.4 billion to shore up the Highway Trust Fund, add $1 billion for rail infrastructure investment, and double the oil spill tax.That $3.4 billion represents a shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund before the Big Pander Express's proposed summertime raid. Of course, that compares to the one-year price appropriation for the war, now revealed as $178 billion. There's another provision that's objectionable to the Administration, just in case you thought they were losing their common touch:
In addition to taking issue with a proposed fuel tax increase for private jets and other aircraft, the administration wrote that it has "serious concerns" with several labor-related provisions included in the bill relating to airline mergers, repair stations, and air traffic controllers. [emphasis added]Because it's more important to keep private jets in the air than to make sure that airliner repairs are properly monitored.
Harry Reid characterizes this behavior appropriately:
"Republicans are acting like the kid on the playground who doesn't like his team mates, but he owns the ball and takes it home to his mother," Reid said on the Senate floor Friday. "They've been in a snit ever since we took the majority."
Labels: Trains Planes and Automobiles
