The good news is that with the FAA reopening, tens of thousands of workers will be back on the job within a few days and able to finish needed construction and other projects. The bad news is that the current extension of FAA operating authority ends Sept. 16 and the anti-union agenda that led Republicans to shut the agency down this time are no closer to resolution.
As I posted earlier, the Senate will pass the House's short-term reauthorization under unanimous consent. The New York Times has further details on the fate of rural air service subsidies targeted by Republicans to inflict pain on key Democrats:
The breakthrough came on Thursday when Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Congressional leaders that he has the authority to issue waivers for the communities affected by the cuts in rural air service contained in the House bill.
Congressional officials said Mr. LaHood had indicated that he would review the affected rural communities for waivers that would postpone the cuts, but said he had not promised any specific action.
As Democrats repeatedly made clear, the issue was not that they were unwilling to make any such cuts, but that they did not want to (once again) give in to GOP hostage-taking.
The problem is that Sept. 16 deadline, combined with continuing Republican intransigence. There is less than no reason to believe Republicans will relax their demand that in union representation elections, people who don't vote must be counted as having voted against the union. Under this standard, not one member of the House would have been elected, yet they insist on it for union elections. Even some House Republicans oppose this provision; 16 of them voted for a Republican-sponsored amendment stripping it out of the House's long-term FAA bill.
Democrats have held strong so far on this provision, but as we know, come September they once again will be facing a Republican party willing to inflict unlimited damage on workers and the American economy in pursuit of its extremist agenda. Just because people are going back to work doesn't mean the FAA and its workers are out of danger.