Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Monday warned that the government shutdown may lead to delayed or canceled flights, and said the funding for the Essential Air Service program, which subsidizes commercial air travel at smaller and rural airports, will run out Sunday.
The Federal Aviation Administration is tracking a "slight tick up" in sick calls from air traffic controllers, who as essential workers are required to work without pay during the shutdown, Duffy said Monday during a press conference at Newark Liberty International Airport.
"There are controllers who have called out sick," Duffy said, adding that it has not affected on area in particular. "If we see there are issues in the tower ... we'll reduce the [flight] rates and you'll see more delays and you might see some cancellations," he said.
Federal agencies
The Essential Air Service program, which provides subsidies to airlines to maintain flights to small and rural communities, runs out of money Sunday, Duffy said. "Every state across the country will be impacted," he said. The program supports 170 local airports across the US and in Puerto Rico.
Duffy also weighed in on the Trump administration's move last week to
Duffy said the projects have the administration's support, but that contracting practice reviews will take longer as the DOT has furloughed the staff overseeing the reviews.
"The president in his budget full funded the projects; we don't want to shut down these projects, they are important," Duffy said. The administration "months ago" told the local agencies that they were investigating whether the contracting policies included race- and sex-based criteria as part of its definition of disadvantaged businesses — a set-aside program that the DOT has since revamped — as opposed to only "the size of the company," Duffy said. "That's unconstitutional and contrary to law," the transportation secretary said. "Most of our review workers are furloughed now, so that will take longer."
The administration on Friday announced a
Meanwhile, as the government shutdown nears the one-week mark Wednesday, local officials should prepare for a number of impacts, including on their borrowing plans, the National League of Cities said.
"You might be looking at what the government shutdown is doing to the markets right now," said NLC Legislative Director Michael Wallace in a video released by the NLC. "That's a legitimate concern. If you're doing a bond issue, there might be different kind of timing involved," Wallace said. "There are many different ways the government shutdown might impact the work of local governments."
Local officials should "anticipate disruption," the NLC said in an accompanying brief. Federal discretionary grants administered by shuttered federal agencies will be unavailable for reimbursement, and the application process for new grants will be paused until the shutdown ends, the NLC said.
City officials should also consider establishing an emergency fund for furloughed workers and take steps to mitigate impacts on low-income and public housing
