LOS ANGELES, Calif.–Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called on Congress today to quickly reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration’s financial authority, saying inaction jeopardizes funding for critical improvement projects and threatens jobs.
The suspension of the FAA’s ability to spend money and raise taxes means 206 FAA employees who work in Southern California have been furloughed indefinitely, and $5.1 million in FAA grant money for runway improvements at Los Angeles International Airport has been suspended.
Air traffic controllers, who are considered essential employees, will continue working.
“With the heavy summer travel season already under way, we need Congress to pass extension legislation for the FAA now to avoid furloughs for 4,000 employees across the country,” Villaraigosa said. “Our airports are not only our most important resources for moving goods and people, they are critical to creating jobs and putting Americans back to work.”
LAX is in the fourth year of a $4 billion-plus capital improvement campaign that includes expanding the Tom Bradley International Terminal, replacing the 50-year-old central utility plant that powers much of LAX and adding taxi lanes to make takeoffs and landings more efficient.
The suspension will not affect any of the construction projects under way at LAX, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) spokesman Michael Collins said.
He said LAWA–a proprietary city department that manages its own funding sources and budgets for LAX and two other airports in Van Nuys and Ontario–has already paid up-front project costs with $3 billion in bond money sold over the last three years. But the suspension of the FAA will mean delays in LAWA getting reimbursed for some developments that FAA has committed to pay for.
“It would be good to get this thing resolved,” Collins said. “It’s not a life-or-death matter for airports like LAX, but it’s hugely important for average-size airports.”
About $131.5 million in construction projects at airports across the state are likely to be affected, including a $3.1 million control tower in Palm Springs, according to the FAA.
“Congress needs to do its work,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. “If they can’t pass a bill, local construction workers throughout the nation will see their airport projects and paychecks come to a halt. This is no way to run the best aviation system in the world.”
By Richie Duchon | City News Service
