A group of Democratic senators sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner last month asking him to appoint conferees to FAA reauthorization talks before the current temporary extension expires on September 16. The Senators urged Boehner to avoid the “political brinksmanship” that led to a partial shutdown of the FAA and furlough of 4,000 employees, along with 70,000 airport construction workers, for nearly two weeks at the end of July. “With another deadline for FAA extension looming in just a few short weeks, we encourage you to use your authority to appoint House conferees during the [current recess] session so that we may resolve our issues and put Americans back to work,” they wrote. Among the signers were Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Transportation Committee chairman John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.). The Senate named its conferees more than four months ago.