WASHINGTON — President Obama signed a federal air and
transportation funding bill, narrowly averting a threatened furlough to
80,000 aviation and construction workers.
Thursday
night Congress broke a logjam and sent Obama the legislation to extend
the funding with barely enough time for him to sign it into law Friday,
the same day Federal Aviation Administration funding was set to expire.
Because
Congress did not resolve underlying disputes about long-term funding
measures, FAA funding will expire in February and the Highway Trust Fund
will expire in April without further extensions.
But
legislation to replenish depleted Federal Emergency Management Agency
disaster-aid funds with $6.9 billion in aid, instead of the $1.8 billion
President Obama initially asked for, remains mired in partisan
gridlock. House Republican leaders insist that supplemental funds to pay
for Hurricane Irene and other disasters be paid with spending cuts
elsewhere in the budget.
Republicans are aiming to
take funds away from an alternative-energy auto program to offset the
increase in FEMA funding. Earlier this summer, House Majority Leader
Eric Cantor told Fox News that Republicans were doing what any ordinary
family would do in a crisis — doing without a new car to pay for the
needs of a sick loved one, for instance.
Democrats
oppose that approach, and say disaster funds have traditionally been
provided to communities without such offsets. The debate over disaster
funds could head toward a showdown next week in the House.
“House
Republicans are setting a dangerous precedent by requiring that
disaster aid be offset, especially when Americans are struggling to
rebuild their homes, businesses, and communities,” said House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi in a statement to the press. “ Speaker Boehner must
allow a vote on the Senate-passed bipartisan bill without further
delay.”
Late Thursday night, the Senate overcame a
filibuster for the bill with the support of six Republicans, all from
states hit hard by at least one of the 48 events President Obama has
declared disasters since Jan. 1. But it remains to be seen how many
House Republicans will side with the Senate’s FEMA funding increase.
The
House is expected to take up disaster aid as part of a broader bill to
fund the government for the first months of the fiscal year, which
begins Oct. 1.
———
©2011 Tribune Co.
Visit Tribune Co. at www.latimes.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
