Shutdowns Harm Air Traffic, TSA: Bipartisan Fixes Stall

0:00Congress keeps dropping bills to make sure air traffic controllers and TSA screeners get paid even during government shutdowns. Acts like the Keep America Flying Act and Aviation Funding Stability Act, pop-up session after session, often with Dems and Republicans teaming up. But they always stall out once funding gets sorted in the drama fades. Shutdowns hit hard though. That 35-day one in Trump's first term caused east coast delays in long lines. This falls 43-day record breaker, forced airlines to cut flights at 40-busy airports because controllers were missing work without pay. Recent lapses hammer TSA again, with thousands skipping shifts. Workers are fed up. TSA agents like Carlos Rodriguez say the stability they signed up for vanished, leaving them in debt from back-to-back crises. Unions call it political chess, using frontline folks as pawns. Unions and airports are running ads and letters begging for action on those bipartisan fixes. Pressure is building from groups like Airlines for America and over 30 unions pushing

1:04broader fairness acts. The president's recent emergency order got one pay period out to TSA, but experts warn it's not enough to fix morale or stop quits. Pass bills clear committees, but never hit the floor. Until public outrage sticks around longer than a shutdown, this cycle spins on, risking more chaos in the skies we all rely on. That's your update from Durham News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with The Story.