A congressional battle that blocked passage of a new stopgap Federal Aviation Administration bill has caused the FAA to issue stop-work orders on about 80 airport engineering and construction contracts, totaling more than $790 million, around the country.
The failure to pass a new authorization bill before the old one expired on July 22 has also tied up an additional $2.5 billion in infrastructure funds, as FAA put a hold on awarding new grants from its Airport Improvement Program (AIP). Moreover, the agency furloughed about 4,000 of its 47,000 workers.