Peter DeFazio

FILE - This June 19, 2015, file photo, shows the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration building in Washington. Federal employees overseeing Boeing and other aircraft makers say they face pressure from the companies and fear retribution from their own bosses if they raise too many safety concerns, according to a survey of the workers that was delivered to Congress on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FAA employees who oversee airplane makers report pressure

Aug. 7, 2020 9:29 PM EDT

Federal employees overseeing Boeing and other aircraft makers say they face pressure from the companies and fear retribution from their own bosses if they raise too many safety concerns, according to a survey of the workers that was delivered to Congress on Friday. Many of the Federal Aviation Administration...

FILE - In this July 22, 2020 photo, a ticketing agent for Delta Airlines hands a boarding pass to a passenger as he checks in for a flight in the main terminal of Denver International Airport in Denver. Unions are gaining support in Congress for another $32 billion in federal aid to protect airline workers from layoffs for another six months. Still, it's too early to say how the issue will turn out. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Airlines, unions pin hopes for more payroll cash on politics

Aug. 1, 2020 10:37 PM EDT

With tens of thousands of airline workers facing layoffs this fall, labor groups are pushing Congress for more federal money to keep them on the payroll until next spring. The unions have gained significant support among Democrats. They hope that the prospect of mass layoffs weeks before a pivotal election will...

FILE - A line of Spirit Airlines jets sit on the tarmac at the Orlando International Airport Wednesday, May 20, 2020, in Orlando, Fla. Spirit Airlines is warning, Wednesday, July 29, 2020, employees that it could furlough up to 30% of its roughly 9,000 workers in October, when federal payroll-help money runs out. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Spirit warns of layoffs; aid for contractors being examined

Jul. 29, 2020 7:42 PM EDT

Spirit Airlines is warning employees that it could furlough up to 30% of its roughly 9,000 workers in October, when federal payroll-help money runs out. CEO Ted Christie said in a memo to employees that furloughs might be needed because Spirit is burning through too much cash as the coronavirus pandemic continues...

Support in House for $32B more for airlines but fate unclear

Jul. 27, 2020 8:32 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A majority of the U.S. House of Representatives has endorsed a provision calling for $32 billion to protect aviation workers from layoffs though next March, as airlines fight to survive a huge downturn in travel caused by the virus pandemic. House backers of the aid provision released a...

FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2020, file photo, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., right, shows a note to Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. The House has approved a $1.5 trillion plan to rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into projects to fix roads and bridges, upgrade transit systems, expand interstate railways and dredge harbors, ports and channels. (AP Photo/ Jacquelyn Martin, File)

House approves $1.5T plan to fix crumbling infrastructure

Jul. 1, 2020 9:06 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-controlled House approved a $1.5 trillion plan Wednesday to rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into projects to fix roads and bridges, upgrade transit systems, expand interstate railways and dredge harbors, ports...

A Boeing 737 MAX jet heads to a landing at Boeing Field following a test flight Monday, June 29, 2020, in Seattle. The jet took off from Boeing Field earlier in the day, the start of three days of re-certification test flights that mark a step toward returning the aircraft to passenger service. The Federal Aviation Administration test flights over the next three days will evaluate Boeing's proposed changes to the automated flight control system on the MAX, a system that activated erroneously on two flights that crashed, killing 346 people. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Report: Boeing fell short in disclosing key changes to Max

Jul. 1, 2020 12:43 AM EDT

A government report says Boeing did not give regulators documents about changes it made in a key system blamed in two deadly crashes of its 737 Max jet, and that officials responsible for approving the plane did not know how powerfully the system could push the plane's nose down. Government personnel involved in...