The flight disruptions during the record government shutdown that ended last week inspired a rare act of bipartisanship in Washington on Tuesday, when congressional representatives from both parties introduced legislation that would allow air traffic controllers to get paid during future shutdowns.
The bill proposes funding salaries, operating expenses and other Federal Aviation Administration programs by tapping into a little-used flight insurance fund that was created after the Sept. 11 attacks and currently has $2.6 billion dollars sitting in it. The bill's sponsors, which include four of the top Republicans and Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, hope that relying on the fund might make their bill more attractive than other proposals because it would limit the potential cost of dolling out paychecks.
