Cost of FAA shutdown could exceed $1 billion

The congressional standoff that has shut down the Federal Aviation Administration continues, with no end in sight until September if the Senate doesn’t act this week. Lawmakers risk losing more than $1 billion in revenue from ticket taxes that the airline collects. The authority to collect those taxes has expired. House Republicans say the sticking point is their demand that the Senate cut $16.5 million from a $200 million budget for rural air service subsidies.

The shutdown is less than two weeks old and already the government has lost more than $250 million in revenue.

The House has left for its August recess. The Senate is expected to follow this week. Lost revenue from uncollected airline ticket taxes could exceed $1.2 billion before lawmakers return to work in September.