Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I support a clean extension of the FAA bill. But I cannot support the conference report that's before the Senate today because it includes a radical provision to undermine our rail and airline workers' right to organize. The FAA bill is a jobs bill that keeps air safety employees and construction workers at airports on the job. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, every dollar spent on transportation isn't just an investment in concrete and steel, it is an investment in our workers that creates jobs. Reauthorizing this bill keeps thousands of Federal employees and tens of thousands of construction workers on the job and not worrying about whether they will receive a paycheck. A reauthorization of the FAA bill means 4 years of stability. It will modernize and upgrade our air traffic control system. And it will provide billions in investments to improve our airports with new runways, aprons, lighting, and land purchases. A clean FAA bill saves jobs, protects the flying public, and stimulates our economy. But this FAA bill comes with a poison pill labor provision that was added in Conference. I cannot vote for such a radical provision that makes it more difficult for rail and airline workers to organize and sets a dangerous precedent of opening the Railway Labor Act up for hostile anti-worker amendments on unrelated must-do transportation bills. This is just another example in a persistent pattern of attacking workers' rights.…”