NEWS FLASH

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Denied Vote In Illinois | Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was blocked from casting a vote in Illinois last week. According to Politico, LaHood was trying to vote early in Peoria County for his son, Darin, who was running as a delegate for Newt Gingrich, but was given an electronic ballot for the incorrect district. When LaHood protested the ballot, an election official told him it had been spoiled and he could not receive a replacement. LaHood, who was a Republican member of Congress before joining President Obama’s cabinet, indicated he supports Obama in the general election, but that he wanted to support his son in the primary.

-Zachary Bernstein

NEWS FLASH

Transportation Secretary LaHood: FAA Shutdown Would Result In ‘Immediate Furlough’ Of 4,000 Workers | The shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration that will occur Friday night if Congress does not reach a deal to extend its authorization would result in the “immediate furlough” of 4,000 workers, bring a halt to $2.5 billion in airport construction projects, and cost the government about $200 million a week in lost airline ticket taxes, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said on a conference call Thursday. Previously, FAA reauthorization has sailed through Congress 20 times, but Republicans have ground the process to a halt with the inclusion of an anti-union measure this year. LaHood called on Congress to pass a clean re-authorization bill — preferably to cover the next five to six years, he said — before the FAA shuts down at close of business tomorrow. “This is just not the right way to run America’s aviation system,” LaHood said.