Almost 4,000 Federal Aviation Administration employees furloughed this summer will be reimbursed for salary lost during that time, according to Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J. The back pay will be included in a mid-October paycheck after Transportation Department lawyers concluded that congressional approval was not needed, LoBiondo said in a news release Friday. Department officials could not be reached for confirmation late Friday, but in a separate statement, the president of the FAA Managers Association called the news “a great outcome” for employees. “We congratulate and commend [Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt] for discovering the legal mechanisms to bring the…
Browsing: Ray LaHood
It wasn’t exactly a primal scream, but Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sounded decidedly ticked this afternoon over the congressional standoff that has idled almost 4,000 Federal Aviation Administration workers. That impasse is now in its tenth day, with no apparent end in sight. Amping up the urgency is that Congress is set to leave by week’s end for its customary August break. Meaning that, without a quick resolution, those FAA employees could stay furloughed without pay through at least Labor Day. Also affected, according to LaHood, are some 70,000 construction workers employed on FAA contracts snarled by the dispute. During this afternoon’s…
(Updated below) After years of a stagnant economy, furloughs are nothing new to private-sector workers — including newspaper reporters! — and even many state and local employees. But now they’re affecting the federal government. It’s not because of the economy, though. The Senate needed to pass legislation last week to extend federal highway and transit programs — and the legislation was blocked by Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., who said he objected to the bill because it wasn’t deficit-neutral. The legislation stalled. The result? The Transportation Department has to furlough nearly 2,000 employees, starting today, and ending… whenever the bill gets…
Barack Obama’s Cabinet is filling up. Last night the Senate confirmed: Shaun Donovan to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Ray LaHood to be Secretary of Transportation. In other confirmation news: Susan Rice, Obama’s choice for U.N. ambassador, was approved. Nancy Sutley was confirmed as chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. And finally, Lisa Jackson was given the green light to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, after Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., lifted his objection to a vote by unanimous consent.