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On Tuesday, Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to close airspace across portions of the United States unless Democrats agreed to end the standoff over the government shutdown.
“If you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you will see mass chaos, you will see mass flight delays,” Duffy warned. “You’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it.”
Air traffic controllers across the country haven’t been paid since the shutdown began more than four weeks ago. However, they are legally required to continue working through the shutdown.
There are around 14,000 air traffic controllers currently in the U.S. Close to a fifth of those workers have been calling in sick rather than working without pay each day of the shutdown.
Last month, Duffy threatened to fire those workers. “If you don’t come to work, you don’t get paid. … If we have some on our staff that aren’t dedicated, we’re going to let them go,” he said.
But he softened his stance on air traffic controllers this past weekend, stating, “they need support, they need money, they need a paycheck,” and “they don’t need to be fired.”
Duffy’s threat to potentially restrict portions of U.S. airspace comes just weeks before Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel times of the year. Close to 6 million people traveled throughout the U.S. by air during last year’s holiday.
Many flights have already been delayed due primarily to the government shutdown, and there were 500 flight cancellations on Friday alone.
With no end to the shutdown in sight, Democratic leaders in Congress have indicated they remain dedicated to opposing any continuing resolution to fund the government unless Republicans agree to negotiate on restoring health care funding that was cut by Trump’s budget bill earlier this year. Those cuts are tremendous, with one study estimating they will result in at least 51,000 preventable deaths annually.
Democrats “will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) said. “That’s been our position week after week after week, and it will continue to be our position because the Republican healthcare crisis is crushing the American people.”
According to NBC News, Duffy said he doesn’t know why Democrats are refusing to vote for a continuing resolution.
A recent NBC News poll indicates that a majority of Americans, 52 percent, blame President Donald Trump and/or Republicans for the shutdown crisis, while just 42 percent say they blame Democrats.
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