Aviation

The beginning of 2012 could feel a lot like the summer of 2011, as lawmakers will be faced with another decision on the funding of the Federal Aviation Administration in the first month of the new year.

Congress passed a short-term extension of the agency's funding after talks on a long-term bill broke down in a disagreement over labor rules for transportation workers this summer — and the agency was temporarily shut down down for two weeks. But the short-term measure expires on Jan. 31, meaning the issue will be back on lawmakers' desks very early in the new year.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.), who Democrats blamed for the shutdown of the FAA last year, has expressed optimism a deal could be reached this time.

The House is working Monday on amending a payroll tax holiday extension that was recently passed by the Senate, but the lobbying group for airports said Monday — in rhyme — that the lower chamber should stop and go home.

Airports Council International-North America Vice President for Government and Political Affairs Jane Calderwood offered a humorous take on the poem " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" in a post on the association's blog Monday. In it, she said lawmakers had done enough to the aviation industry in 2011, referencing a shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration this summer.

The full ACI-NA poem is below:

Its days before Christmas

The Senate is gone

But the House continues

To keep hanging on

They’ve funded the government

Extended the extensions

And passed the majority of bills

Under suspension

They’ve named post offices

And talked and talked about jobs

And we long ago lost count

Of all the bombs they have lobbed

They shut down the FAA and

Failed to cut spending

And their complaints about each other

Seem never ending

So please dash away, dash away, dash away all

Go home and be quiet, we all need a rest

We’ll see you in January

When you return to fix this mess.

The House does not appear likely to take the advice; GOP leaders have signaled they oppose the payroll tax legislation they received from the Senate. The short-term bill that funds the FAA is scheduled to run out in January.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

The Federal Aviation Administration is charging $150 for flight data on pilots' iPads.

A Transportation Security Administration employee was included in a child sex sting in Orlando, Fla.

New rail cars for Washington's MetroRail will be five months behind schedule.

A study found that hybrid cars are safer in accidents than non-hybrid automobiles.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Newark's Liberty International Airport has been approved for Boeing's new 747 airplane.

The popularity of car sharing programs is on the rise.

The Transportation Security Administration says it found a man with guns and knives at an upstate New York airport.

Maryland's Transportation secretary is under fire.

Former President Reagan's chief of the Federal Aviation Administration has died, according to reports.

The New York Times and The Washington Post are reporting that J. Lynn Helms, who was FAA Administrator from when Reagan famously fired striking air traffic control workers, passed away this week at 86 years old. Helms was at the top of the FAA from April 22, 1981, to Jan. 31, 1984.

The agency is currently in the midst of another controversial period. Former chief Randy Babbitt resigned earlier this month after being arrested for drunk driving. Babbitt, who was appointed by President Obama to head the agency in 2009, has been replaced by former Deputy FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.

The agency did not have a comment on Helms passing.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

The airport most checked-in on Facebook is Los Angeles International.

The most expensive airport in the world to fly out of is Memphis International.

Japanese auto manufacturer Mitsubishi has delivered its first electric car in North America.

The Federal Aviation Administration has approved airlines' replacing paper books and charts with iPads.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that texting was a factor in a Missouri crash that involved a school bus.

The Department of Transportation has given Georgia a grant to study high-speed rail between Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C.

The Transportation Security Administration found a loaded gun on a 76-year-old man.

A police officer accidentally fired a gun at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

President Obama weighed in on the National Labor Relations Board's decision to drop its complaint against airline manufacturer Boeing.

"I'm glad people are gonna be working," Obama said Friday while walking across the street to the White House from Blair House, the official state guest house of the president.

The NLRB filed a complaint that Boeing relocated jobs from Washington state to South Carolina in retaliation for past union strikes in Washington.

Boeing decided to build the plant for its 787 Dreamliner jets in South Carolina, a right-to-work state.

The case garnered strong criticism from conservatives who said that the NLRB was trying to decide where Boeing could do business.

On Friday, the NLRB announced a deal had been reached between Boeing and the International Association of Machinists on building a different airplane in Washington state.

White House press secretary Jay Carney stressed that Obama was happy with the NLRB news but had no involvement in the matter.

"Obama is glad they have reached a resolution, but the president was not involved," Carney said Friday.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a pilot's complaint about the tower at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has unveiled his transportation plan.

A former CEO of Detroit's Metro International Airport has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit.

Baltimore's Thurgood Marshall International Airport is getting $100 million in renovations.

An airline is offering passengers a sale in honor of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich being sentenced to prison.

Spirit Airlines, based in Miramar, Fla., which offers flights out of a Chicago airport, said Thursday that it was offering flights for $14, which is the number of years Blagojevich was sentenced to serve in prison for his conviction on corruption charges. 

After he was sentenced this week, Spirit said Thursday  "you don't have to live in the 'Big House' to take advantage of these fares" to among other places, Chicago.

"But hurry... You don't want to get convicted for missing this seat-selling sale!" the airline's advertisement said.

The former Illinois governor was accused of attempting to sell the Senate seat that President Obama vacated winning the presidency in 2008.