Congress Passes Bill To End Airport Delays

Congress has passed a bill to help end airport delays caused by FAA furloughs.

FOX News Radio’s Rich Johnson reports from Washington:

It took a two-thirds majority in the House to get around the rules, but it was still not unanimous.

(Hoyer) “It fails to address the whole impact of sequester.”

Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer voted no because he wants other federal departments to get the same flexibility the transportation department is getting.

Iowa Republican Tom Latham says this whole thing is the White House’s fault.

(Latham) “But the Congress is stepping in to correct the problems created by the administration’s inaction.”

The measure gives the transportation department the power to shift funds from well-funded programs to pay for air traffic controllers.

In Washington, Rich Johnson, FOX News Radio.

READ a statement from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA): 

“After just one week of furloughs, it is abundantly clear that a fully staffed air traffic control workforce is necessary for our national airspace system to operate at full capacity. The nation’s air traffic controllers and other aviation safety professionals take great pride in their work and want nothing more than to be in their towers and radar facilities, working each and every flight. Thanks to the action taken this week in Congress, they will be able to return to work full time. We applaud the bipartisan nature of the votes and look forward to working closely with the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure the newly granted flexibility is exercised in a way that maintains our national airspace system’s status as the safest and most efficient in the world.”