WASHINGTON, D.C.—Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV issued the following statement today as furlough notices began going out to more than 4,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) workers who are going without pay because of the House refusal to vote on a clean funding resolution last week:

“I was appalled that the House went through on its dangerous threats last week to hold the entire FAA bill hostage to their politics.  This issue is too serious for a stalemate because the House leadership is insisting on a provision pushed primarily by Delta Airlines to benefit their anti-worker agenda.  That provision has already been rejected by the Senate, and the President says he'll veto it, so it is a non-starter.  I am calling upon House Speaker John Boehner to work with House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica to immediately convene a conference meeting by Wednesday of this week.  The Senate named conferees back in May, and we remain eager to solve the differences in this bill and reopen the FAA.  Mr. Mica testified before the House Rules Committee that he and Speaker Boehner could begin a conference in ‘an hour,’ so I am hopeful that he will finally make a good faith effort to get going here in order to restart funding for the FAA, help the thousands of workers around the country who are going without a paycheck, and keep vital airport renovation projects moving forward.”

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