This is the wisdom of a Republican controlled House of Representatives. About two weeks ago, House Republicans voted to deny the $200 million from a subsidy to the Federal Aviation Administration, because the Democratic controlled Senate did not yield to their demand to cut $16 million from the subsidy. Because of the Republican’s action, projects that this money funded came to a grinding halt, causing thousands to be out of work.
But not only did these people lose their income, the federal government is also seeing revenue fly out the window. A ticket tax added to each purchase was also terminated when Republicans decided not to approve the subsidies, and according to reports, over $1 billion in revenues will be lost.
Lawmakers risk losing more than $1 billion in revenue from ticket taxes that the airline collects. The authority to collect those taxes has expired. House Republicans say the sticking point is their demand that the Senate cut $16.5 million from a $200 million budget for rural air service subsidies.
The shutdown is less than two weeks old and already the government has lost more than $250 million in revenue.
After voting down the subsidy, House Republicans left Washington and went home to their districts on a 5 week vacation. It should also be noted that since 2007, congress passed this same bill 20 times. This time however, something changed and Republicans have now decided not to issue the 21st approval.
This is simply more proof that Republicans really don’t have America’s economic recovery at heart. Anything they can do to create instability and add to the worries and fears of middle class America, they are willing to do. Their goal is simple: feed off the worries and fears they’ve contributed to, then blame the Obama administration for a terrible economy. This, they believe, is their ticket back into White House in the 2012 elections.
