Crybaby Reid Holding Up FAA Bill

From The Washinton Examiner: A bill to extend program authorization and funding for the Federal Aviation Administration passed the House earlier this week and is now headed to the Senate where it is expected to run into a serious obstacle because of an obscure provision concerning a little airport in Nevada. The airport is at Ely in the home state of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. It's likely nobody other than those directly involved in this issue would give it much thought but for the fact the nation's air traffic control system's daily operations could be threatened.
The Ely issue centers on the fact federal law currently allows the government to pay up to $3,720 for every passenger ticket used at the facility. There are two other similarly tiny airports -- Alamogordo/Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico ($1,563) and Glendive, Mont. ($1,358) -- that receive federal subsidies for every ticket. The subsidies are intended to insure air service is available on sparsely traveled routes the commercial airlines don't want to serve for fear of not making a profit.
The House wants to cap such subsidies at $1,000 per ticket. Rep. John Mica, the Florida Republican who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, observes that "it is now up to the Senate to pass this bill and not shut down FAA programs over a little provision that eliminates huge government subsidies to just three small airports." Rep. Tom Petri, R-Wis., who chairs a House aviation subcommittee, adds that "if we can't put an end to these extravagant subsidies, then we will never be able to rein in spending where really hard decisions are necessary."
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2011/07/congress-should-tell-faa-heed-glider-warnings#ixzz1SucZ3ZJE
But the Ely airport doesn't need much support. From the Las Vegas Sun: That’s considering slightly old numbers, though. On May 15, Great Lakes rejiggered its flight map, pitching its Ely-to-Denver route for Ely-to-Las Vegas, which has proven to be much more popular, especially with the business set that come for the mines and energy projects.
In the airline’s first full month offering the new route, airline official James Adams said, ridership doubled, which means the per-passenger cost has actually already been halved.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/jul/22/house-senate-members-spar-aviation-subsidies/

So, Crybaby Harry Reid is totally responsible for the FAA for partially down for shutting for no real reason at all. Thanks Crybaby Reid.