Posted on 08/02/2011 8:24:03 PM PDT by Doogle
WASHINGTON The government is likely to lose more than $1 billion in airline ticket taxes because lawmakers have left town for a month without resolving a partisan standoff over a bill to end the partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration.
The government already has lost more than $200 million since airlines are unable to collect taxes on ticket sales because the FAA's operating authority has expired.
The Senate recessed on Tuesday until September, erasing any possibility for quickly resolving the issue. The House left Monday night.
Caught up in the partisan acrimony are nearly 4,000 FAA employees who have been furloughed. The FAA also has issued stop work orders on more than 200 construction projects, threatening the jobs of thousands of other workers. Air traffic controllers, however, remain on the job.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I wonder how many other agencies could be furloughed?
It’s a start. Zer0 is for 1800s technology railroads anyway.
And, trust me, the airlines couldn't be more thrilled with the Congresscritters
(I wonder how many Congresscritters flew home on vacation for free?)
Obama is a Luddite, for sure.
The tin foil side of me says this was intentionally overlooked to put federal money in the hands of the flailing airline industry. At least some airlines raised their prices by the same amount as the psuedo-repealed tax. One argument is that it is a mini-bailout, without a single politician having to take much heat for the decision.
That's exactly how the government looks at it.
If only they had defunded the TSA. Where the FAA was cocaine the TSA is crack. Very destructive.
But we know better...
UNITED STATES The citizens are likely to not have stolen from them more than $1 billion in airline ticket taxes because lawmakers have left town for a month without resolving a partisan standoff over a bill to end the partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration.
I think this is bunk. The airlines are continuing to collect the tax because they know that the jerks in Congress will want it back - probably with interest.
I agree. AP writes everything with a political agenda in mind, and now they just want to discredit the legislative branch of government, possibly because in the end, they did make it look like the executive branch, Geithner and Obama, forced them into spending excessive amounts of money, on credit. NO WAY the Feds just forget about this accumulated revenue.
Starve! The! Beast!
It's amazing the Senate GOP are holding the line on this.
It’s only money, you got plenty. In all this budget scam there has been NO talk of disposing of some gov’t property in sales to approved bidder/buyers. This could have raised billions.
Your point is well taken. Personally, I would like to see spending get cut first, to be more on par with revenue. After that, we could dispose of assets to pay off debt. I vote that the White House be the first piece of US property on the auction block.
Your point is well taken. Personally, I would like to see spending get cut first, to be more on par with revenue. After that, we could dispose of assets to pay off debt. I vote that the White House be the first piece of US property on the auction block.
- Big Government - http://biggovernment.com -
FAA Shutdown Because Dems Want to Protect Pork
Posted By Capitol Confidential On August 3, 2011 @ 8:29 am
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has basically been shut down [1] thanks to the Senate Democrats addition to pork. 4,000 FAA employees have been furloughed until further notice. 70,000 construction workers must now sit on their hands as all airport construction has halted. And the federal government is loosing $200million a week in airline ticket taxes because they are not authorized to legally collect the tax.
[2]
What has led to this massive shut down? Senate Democrats refusal to curb a wasteful government subsidy of $200 million known as the Essential Air Service (EAS) program [3].
As of last Friday, the FAA has lost its authorization to spend money and levy fees because Congress couldnt come to an agreement on a transportation bill. House Republicans are currently purposing a temporary transportation bill to last through September allowing time for the two parties to come together on a larger agreement. Included in the bill is a provision that would curb the EAS program.
The EAS program was originally created in 1978 as a subsidy to help out small and rural airports as the government stepped back from regulating routes and fares. The program was intended to last 10 years. Over three decades later, the program is still in existence serving over 140 airports; its budget keeps exploding and now the program functions only to subsidize routes that would have been abandoned year ago.....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.