|
 |
 |
|
Report finds heavy lobbying on FAA bill
-
08/08/11 09:56 AM ET
More than $50 million has been spent thus far in 2011 lobbying the funding bill for the Federal Aviation Administration, a new report suggests.
The Senate on Friday ended a nearly two-week furlough for 4,000 FAA workers by passing an appropriations bill for the agency. But the measure only funds the FAA until Sept. 16.
Negotiations on a larger bill, which would fund the agency for multiple years, are ongoing. And that's where the lobbying money in Washington is going, according to the First Street Research Group.
Other lobbyists on the bill with Capitol Hill ties included former legislative director to to Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) Scott Allferis, former legislative director to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) Jane Alonso, former legislative director and chief of staff for Sen. Olympia Snow (R-Maine) Jane Calderwood and former field representative to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) Michael Davis II.
Although the partial shutdown of the FAA came to an end last week, lawmakers remain deeply divided on the specifics of the long-term funding bill.
The chambers differ on how long the bill should be, how much it should cost and, most controversially, on a labor provision in the version that passed the House that would undo rules to make it easier for transportation workers to unionize.
In May, the House passed a four-year bill, $59 billion for the agency, while the Senate approved a two-year, $34 billion measure.
Additionally, this spring, negotiations on the bill were consumed by a contentious debate on a House attempt to undo rules adopted by the National Mediation Board last year to make it easier for transportation workers to unionize.
The shutdown of the FAA was projected to have cost the federal government $30 million a day, as the agency was not authorized to collect taxes on airline ticket sales for nearly two weeks.
About 4,000 FAA workers were furloughed for two weeks, and transportation observers estimate that 70,000 additional workers were also put out of work by the delay or cancellation of about 200 airport construction projects.
The full report on the lobbying on the FAA bill can be read here.
