Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I want to explain my vote of the FAA extension. As I have said many times, I share House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Mica's frustration, and the frustration of Republican leadership in both the House and the Senate, that favors to organized labor have overshadowed the prospects for long-term FAA reauthorization. Last year the National Mediation Board changed the rules under which employees of airlines and railroads are able to unionize. For decades the standard has been that a majority of employees would have to agree in an election to form a union. However, the new NMB rules changed that standard so that all it takes to unionize is a majority of employees voting. The NMB wants to permanently impose unionization with less than majority support. The House passed long-term FAA reauthorization bill includes language I strongly support that eliminates this favor for big labor. The enactment of a long-term FAA reauthorization bill is very important and is something we need to accomplish. However, the NMB issue needs to be resolved for long-term FAA reauthorization to occur. I will work with my colleagues on a resolution, but they should be on notice that avoiding the issue through 22 short-term extensions is no longer an alternative. I hope my friends have a restful weekend, but they shouldn't feel too relaxed even though we just extended the FAA for 4 months. We need to get back to work on a long-term FAA reauthorization bill right away.”