Mini-Government Shutdown: FAA Dispute Illustrates Why Congress Does Not Work

Is This the Coming Attractions (Attractions May Be The Wrong Word)

The Congress has been unable to resolve a dispute over the funding of the Federal Aviation Administration.  This is the group that employs Air Traffic Controllers and also is involved in the operation of the nation’s airports.

The House of Representatives wants to

1. Reduce subsidies for small airports
2. Change the unionization rule for some transportation workers.

The Senate does not want to do either.



The Congress's Idea of Modern Air Transportation



The result is no funding for non-essential FAA activities (Air Traffic Controllers are considered essential, surprisingly).  This report from the Washington Post illustrates the problem of resolution of these issues in Washington.

Senate Commerce Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV  (D-W.Va.) late Monday called on the House to meet with its Senate counterparts Wednesday to work on resolution of the disagreement.

And

House Transportation Chairman John L. Mica (R-Fla.) responded that the Senate should instead adopt a House plan.

There you have it, Washington in July 2011 in a nutshell.

Oh, and did we mention the $200 million a week in tax revenue the government is losing out on?  We didn’t.  Well, it's not that important, after all the government is doing quite well fiscally, isn’t it.