Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood demanded that members of Congress return from their “vacations” and approve funding for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Congress left town Tuesday without acting on the FAA bill, leaving $11 billion in construction projects stalled and 4,000 workers laid off. The bill has stalled because of a dispute over the unionization of workers.
“Come back, Congress … get off the beach,” LaHood shouted from the White House briefing room. “Leave your vacations just for a couple of hours.”
LaHood chided members of Congress for “running around” Washington and preaching about job creation, while failing to approve funding – before adjourning for a month – that would put 70,000 construction workers and 4,000 FAA employees back on the job at airports around the country.
“American people see the fallacy of these very hollow speeches,” LaHood said.
