The partial FAA shut down is over, and one Georgia Congressman is relieved.
“I am glad to hear that cooler heads have finally prevailed and decisions have been made that allow the Federal Aviation Administration to re-open,” U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said in a statement. “Almost 74,000 workers nationwide have been waiting to be paid since the middle of July, and 334 of those people live in my congressional district. Also $67 million in business contracts hung in the balance in the Atlanta region, held hostage to the politics of resistance and indifference on the part of the Republican House leadership.
“Members of Congress should not play games with the lives of the people they serve,” Lewis added. “The livelihood and well-being of the people should never be held hostage to the ideology of their leaders. I am looking forward to a solution in this debate which authorizes the FAA for the long-term, but I am pleased that a temporary fix that will send people back to work and allow business people to breathe a little easier.”
When Congress didn’t re-authorize the FAA last month, officials say a number of construction projects were at risk as funding was cut off, including one at Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport, which didn’t receive $8 million in federal funds, Georgia Public Broadcasting previously reported.
However, the deal that Congress passed to end the shutdown eliminates subsidiaries to a number of airports, including Athens, Ga.
