For the past 11 days, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been partially shut down. That fact has thus far resulted in $250 million in lost revenue, put 74,000 employees out of work, stalled construction projects, and forced safety inspectors to cover their own travel expenses while working without pay.

Why? Congress refused to approve the FAA’s budget before skipping town for August recess.

What staggering impediment is preventing Congress from doing its job? House Republicans’ insistence on overturning a non-partisan, objective ruling that benefits workers.

Here’s some background.

In May 2010, the National Mediation Board ruled that union-organized elections should be decided by a majority of those who vote. But now House Republicans are using the FAA reauthorization as a hostage to revert back to an antiquated airline-election rule that says eligible voters who don’t vote are considered a “no” vote.

Funding for the FAA expired on July 23rd and needed to be reauthorized by Congress. Instead of passing a clean, non-controversial extension, as Congress has done 20 times before, House Republicans passed a bill that attempts to overturn the National Mediation Board’s ruling—and they refuse to consider any alterative.

The controversial anti-worker provision in the House-passed bill would benefit Delta Airlines, a non-unionized company, specifically. Here’s what Senator Reid had to say about the impasse:

Four thousand air travel employees are out of work and safety inspectors are working without pay because Republicans are playing reckless games with airline safety. Republicans are trying to jam through a policy that benefits the CEO of Delta Airlines, and laying off thousands of air travel workers just because they are not getting their way.

If this partial shutdown continues until September 7th, when both houses of Congress return, roughly $1.4 billion in revenue will be lost.

Republicans are essentially using the same strategy of brinksmanship that almost caused a government default—expect in this case, the FAA actually has partially shut down. 

Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation and former Republican Congressman, pointed the finger at Republicans and blamed their intransigence for bringing us to this point.

Earlier today at a Cabinet meeting, President Obama implored Congress to resolve the issue:

So I’m urging the House and the Senate to take care of this. This is an example of a self-inflicted wound that is unnecessary. And my expectation and I think the American people’s expectation is, is that this gets resolved before the end of this week.

Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz echoed the President’s appeal, citing the harm it’s caused in her Florida Congressional District:

[This] action has frozen roughly $10 million in construction grants, halted much needed improvements to our local airports and left local workers on these projects without a paycheck.

Click here to read the President’s full remarks at today’s Cabinet meeting.

Last night, President Obama announced a compromise agreement to prevent the United States from defaulting on its debt for the first time in history – an unprecedented event that would cause economic pain to families all across our country. But last night’s bipartisan agreement does more than avert a crisis – it guarantees that America will continue to honor its obligations to our seniors and the most vulnerable, and it lays out a path to balanced deficit reduction that will include revenue increases. So while no one got everything they wanted in this deal, this is a compromise that Democrats can support.

First and foremost, this agreement means that we won’t default on our debt for the first time in our nation’s history and it dispenses with the issue of the debt ceiling until 2013. Therefore, this agreement guarantees that Republicans cannot hold our economy hostage again over the next 18 months with the threat of a catastrophic default hanging over our heads. That’s a sharp contrast with Speaker Boehner’s bill, which would have left a cloud of uncertainty hanging over our economy with Republicans again trying to use the prospect of default to extract unacceptable cuts to critical programs like Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid.

In addition, the agreement announced by President Obama protects important investments in America’s future, including aid for college students. We can’t afford to stop investing in our future to balance America’s checkbook today, and this agreement makes sure we won’t. Similarly, it guarantees that Social Security, Medicare benefits, and Medicaid will not be gutted to pay for deficit reduction. Given Republicans’ apparent determination to end Medicare as we know it, that should come as a great relief to seniors across the country.

Finally, the agreement sets out a process by which America can get its fiscal house in order – not by balancing the budget on the backs of the middle class, but by coming to a balanced agreement that includes revenue-increasing tax reforms. President Obama has made it clear that the time for such reforms has come, and this agreement includes a powerful enforcement mechanism that will incentivize Republicans to join with Democrats to achieve a deficit reduction deal by the end of 2012.

Now, I’m sure that despite the many positive elements of this agreement, there are still those who would say that it’s just not good enough. Those people should know that the alternative at this late date would be default, from which catastrophic economic consequences would surely flow. There are no other deals on the table, and given Republicans’ intransigence, no other deals at this late date were possible. However, avoiding default, lifting the debt ceiling through 2012, eliminating the economic uncertainty that repeated fights over the debt ceiling would have caused, protecting Social Security,Medicare and Medicaid and putting in place an enforceable process for balanced deficit reduction with new tax revenues are all results that would not have come about if not for the leadership of President Obama and Democratic leaders and have resulted in an agreement that Democrats can be proud to support.

Last night, President Obama announced a compromise agreement to prevent the United States from defaulting on its debt for the first time in history – an unprecedented event that would cause economic pain to families all across our country. But last night’s bipartisan agreement does more than avert a crisis – it guarantees that America will continue to honor its obligations to our seniors and the most vulnerable, and it lays out a path to balanced deficit reduction that will include revenue increases. So while no one got everything they wanted in this deal, this is a compromise that Democrats can support.

First and foremost, this agreement means that we won’t default on our debt for the first time in our nation’s history and it dispenses with the issue of the debt ceiling until 2013. Therefore, this agreement guarantees that Republicans cannot hold our economy hostage again over the next 18 months with the threat of a catastrophic default hanging over our heads. That’s a sharp contrast with Speaker Boehner’s bill, which would have left a cloud of uncertainty hanging over our economy with Republicans again trying to use the prospect of default to extract unacceptable cuts to critical programs like Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid.

In addition, the agreement announced by President Obama protects important investments in America’s future, including aid for college students. We can’t afford to stop investing in our future to balance America’s checkbook today, and this agreement makes sure we won’t. Similarly, it guarantees that Social Security, Medicare benefits, and Medicaid will not be gutted to pay for deficit reduction. Given Republicans’ apparent determination to end Medicare as we know it, that should come as a great relief to seniors across the country.

Finally, the agreement sets out a process by which America can get its fiscal house in order – not by balancing the budget on the backs of the middle class, but by coming to a balanced agreement that includes revenue-increasing tax reforms. President Obama has made it clear that the time for such reforms has come, and this agreement includes a powerful enforcement mechanism that will incentivize Republicans to join with Democrats to achieve a deficit reduction deal by the end of 2012.

Now, I’m sure that despite the many positive elements of this agreement, there are still those who would say that it’s just not good enough. Those people should know that the alternative at this late date would be default, from which catastrophic economic consequences would surely flow. There are no other deals on the table, and given Republicans’ intransigence, no other deals at this late date were possible. However, avoiding default, lifting the debt ceiling through 2012, eliminating the economic uncertainty that repeated fights over the debt ceiling would have caused, protecting Social Security,Medicare and Medicaid and putting in place an enforceable process for balanced deficit reduction with new tax revenues are all results that would not have come about if not for the leadership of President Obama and Democratic leaders and have resulted in an agreement that Democrats can be proud to support.

After the House passed the bipartisan debt deal, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement:

House passage of the bipartisan agreement to raise the debt limit, avoid default and make a down payment on deficit reduction is an important victory for the American people. The agreement announced last night by President Obama removes uncertainty looming over our economy and ensures that we won’t default on our debt for the first time in our nation’s history. 

The agreement contains a number of important elements that guarantee that we continue to honor our obligations to America’s seniors and the most vulnerable. It lays out a process to get our fiscal house in order without balancing the budget solely on the backs of the middle class.It protects vital investments in our future, and protects Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. It also provides a path forward to find more deficit reductions—including raising revenue from the wealthiest Americans and corporate America.

I want to thank President Obama for his tireless leadership on this issue.Americans can sleep a little more soundly tonight knowing that we will not default, that we have a process in place for a balanced approach for long term deficit reduction and knowing Republicans can no longer hold hostage our economic security for their political gain.

After President Obama's announcement that he and Congressional leaders have arrived at a compromise to raise the debt ceiling and make spending cuts, averting a financial crisis that would have resulted in the United States defaulting on its debt for the first time in history, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued the following statement:

Today's announcement of a compromise is welcome news. I want to thank President Obama for his tireless leadership on this issue and for his unfailing commitment to do what is right for the country. President Obama and Democratic leaders understood that not raising the debt limit would be absolutely irresponsible, and have been committed from day one to a compromise to lift the cloud of uncertainty facing our country and our economy.

The President and Democrats' primary focus has been to ensure that we meet our obligations and avoid default while beginning to get our fiscal house in order. This deal accomplishes that. It puts in place a framework for long-term fiscal discipline and it makes a down payment on deficit reduction.The agreement sets the stage for a balanced package that includes revenues.

But we're not over the hurdle yet. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this compromise and renew their commitment to working to together in a bipartisan fashion to move our country forward.