Another 470,000 people filed for unemployment insurance for the first time today. People are justifiably angry at Congress for failing to do much about our dismal jobs situation.
It’s not that lawmakers lack ideas or opportunities to reduce unemployment. For example, there’s a bill that has been languishing in the U.S. Senate for three years. It would authorize new funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If enacted, the bill would create a lot of jobs for Americans.
My boss, Jim Hoffa, believes the Senate must stop sitting on the
FAA Reauthorization bill and pass it NOW.
The bill would modernize America’s aerospace infrastructure, stabilize the airline industry, improve runway safety and flight efficiency. And the bill would create at least an estimated 125,000 jobs annually, for two years.
One of the things the FAA does is help pay for airport construction. FAA Reauthorization bill would allow $34.5 billion to be spent on upgrading and expanding airports throughout the country—that’s where the 125,000 new jobs annually come in.
And this funding will NOT come from the federal budget. It will come from user fees, including taxes on jet fuel and airplane tickets.
Congress last approved new FAA spending in 2003, for four years. Congress then had to extend the authorization to spend at the same level through a number of short-term measures.
The House has already passed the new reauthorization. The Senate must act quickly. If not, another construction season, and 125,000 potential jobs, will disappear.