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Vice President JD Vance called on five “reasonable Democrats” to come forward and join Republicans and the three Democrats who have voted to reopen the government as the shutdown drags on and heightens travel woes within the aviation industry.
“All we need to end the craziness, to pay the air traffic controllers, to pay the (Transportation Security Administration) agents, to pay the pilots, to make sure that food stamp benefits continue to go out to the American people who need them,” Vance said during a gaggle at the White House Thursday afternoon. “All we need is five reasonable Democrats to join three moderate Democrats and 52 Republicans to reopen the government.”
Vance held a roundtable at the White House Thursday afternoon with Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, Airlines for America CEO and former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, Teamsters chief Sean O’Brien and other aviation and related industry leaders.
The roundtable comes as staffing issues persist among air traffic controllers, with the issues worsening this week as air traffic controllers officially missed their first full paycheck Tuesday.
FLIGHT DELAYS WORSEN AS UNPAID AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS FEEL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN PAIN
The government shutdown has continued since Oct. 1, when Senate lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on a funding package. Republicans have pinned blame for the shutdown on Democrats for allegedly working to include healthcare benefits for illegal immigrants in the package, which Democrats have denied while arguing Republicans are to blame due to not negotiating healthcare demands.
Only two Senate Democrats, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, as well as independent Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats, have voted alongside 52 Republicans to reopen the government. The measure needs 60 votes in order to pass.
“I’ve been a little bit unfair, and I want to correct this, because when I say the Democrats have shut down the government, it’s actually the far left side of the Democratic Party,” Vance added. “Because to their great credit, three moderate Democrats joined 52 Senate Republicans to vote to reopen the government. We need five more reasonable Democrats to put the American people first and reopen the government.”
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Both Duffy and Vance described the shutdown as a “hostage” situation as families suffer without paychecks, federal food benefits run dry, and air travel hangs in the balance as Americans prepare to travel for the holidays.
“We are happy to talk about any policy issues,” Vance said. “We’re happy to talk about health care policy. We’re happy to talk about tax policy. We’re happy to talk about regulatory policy, but not at the point of a gun.”
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“You do not get to take the American people’s government hostage and then demand that we give you everything you want in order to pay our air traffic controllers,” he continued. “It’s a ridiculous set of demands. Let’s reopen the government and then let’s sit down and talk about how to compromise on policy for the American people.”
Duffy added: “Don’t hold air traffic controllers hostage.”
“A lot of our people can go through the miss of one paycheck, and it’s hard for them, but a lot of them can get through it. None of them can get through two paychecks. And so, again, if Democrats don’t get their act together very quickly, you’re going to see huge problems,” Duffy said.
The shutdown already has caused delays at airports in cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Newark, New Jersey, as air traffic controllers, who are employed by the Federal Aviation Administration, cope with staffing shortages.
Unions and trade associations related to airlines and airports increasingly have called on Senate lawmakers to pass a “clean continuing resolution” as the shutdown drags on, including the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, an independent union representing aircraft maintenance technicians and other related employees, on Wednesday.
“On behalf of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) and our 4,400 members in the Unites States representing the aircraft maintenance technicians at Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Horizon Air, Spirit Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines, we urge Congress to end the government shutdown by passing a clean Continuing Resolution,” AMFA National President Bret Oestreich said in a press release published Wednesday.
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