Imagine if your boss told you that due to budget cuts, you would have to go without pay for an indefinite period of time, and pay for your own job-related travel expenses while jetting around the country? That’s the unwelcome situation 40 safety inspectors at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) find themselves in.

 

Thanks to Congress failing—before going on a month-long vacation—to adopt legislation providing short-term funding for the FAA, the agency has had to continue furloughing nearly 4,000 workers because supervisors can’t make payroll.

 

For a small, but important group of employees who inspect the nation’s airports, staying home like their colleagues isn’t an option because of the vital work they do. Their responsibilities include ensuring airport compliance with safety regulations, overseeing construction safety plans, making sure safety problems are corrected and monitoring emergency situations, such as natural disasters and aircraft accidents.

 

“It shows you the dedication these folks have,” FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt told the media. “We’re relying on their professional attitudes and professional pride to continue the work they’re doing, but it’s simply outrageous for us to ask them to carry the burden of hotel rooms and airline tickets. But you know what? They're doing it.”

 

The airport inspectors have been told they will be reimbursed once the FAA gets more funding from Capitol Hill, which probably isn’t going to happen until September at the earliest.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

FAA Safety Inspectors Paying Dearly for Congressional Inaction (by Emily Long, Government Executive)

FAA Partial Shutdown Continues (by Fawn Johnson and Dan Friedman, National Journal)

FAA Furloughs 4,000 as Democrats and Republicans Fail to Find Common Ground (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)