Because finding a picture of a pint-sized air traffic controller is nearly impossible, I give you a kid in a pilot costume.

Here’s a story crying out for the sound of a sad trombone. The Federal Aviation Administration yesterday suspended an air traffic controller at JFK Airport and his supervisor for allowing two children visiting the airport’s tower last month to direct at least five planes.

The FAA has suspended all unofficial visits to towers and radar rooms while the incident is being investigated, and Administrator Randy Babbitt stressed that “this lapse in judgment not only violated FAA’s own policies, but common sense standards … [and] does not reflect the true caliber of our workforce.”

And in case anyone thought otherwise, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association stressed that they “do not condone this type of behavior in any way.”

According to the Washington Post:

Audio recordings first obtained by the Web site LiveATC.net, which tracks air traffic control communications, revealed that the child communicated with at least five flights while he was with his father in the air traffic control tower at JFK.

“JetBlue 171, contact departure,” the unidentified child told one flight.

“Over to departure, JetBlue 171, awesome job,” a pilot said in response. Then a man’s voice is heard: “That’s what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school.”

In another instance, the boy ended communication with a Mexican pilot by signing off, “Adios,” against agency protocol.

The Post later said that FAA confirmed a second kid also talked to flights from the JFK tower that same day.

Bunning objected that the bill would add $10 billion to the deficit and wanted Congress to find a way to pay it, and began blocking it Feb. 25. The blockage meant Transportation didn’t have the funds to pay employees at the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Research and Innovative Technology Administration. Bunning came under withering criticism for his block earlier this week, and he himself found some unique ways to express his opinion on the subject.

In a statement released Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said:

I am pleased that the Senate has acted to break its logjam and extend the Highway Trust Fund for another 30 days. This means that our valued employees may return to work. It also means that their important work getting the economy back on its feet, ensuring Americans’ safety and keeping critical construction projects moving will be able to continue.

Don't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

In another red-letter day for the world’s greatest deliberative body, Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., reportedly flipped the middle finger to a reporter who kept asking him about his blockage of a bill that, among other things, today resulted in the furlough of about 2,000 Transportation Department employees. According to ABC News’ Jonathan Karl:

“Excuse me!  This is a Senators only elevator!” Bunning thundered. 

I tried again to ask his reasons for blocking the bill, Bunning said he already explained his reasons last Thursday, when he said he wanted the $10 billion cost of the bill to be paid for, rather than simply adding to the national debt.

“Excuse me!” he yelled.  “I’ve got to go to the floor!” 

As the doors closed, I asked Bunning if he is concerned about those losing their benefits.

He did not answer.  This is all on-camera.

Senator Bunning was even more expressive before the cameras arrived, using a little sign language.

When Senate producer Z. Byron Wolf spotted Bunning exiting his office, Bunning said, “I’m not talking to anybody.”  When Wolf asked him to stay and talk to our cameras, Bunning walked toward the elevator and shot the middle finger over his head.

Bunning is on fire lately. On Thursday he hollered out “tough s**t” after Democrats objected to his efforts to block the bill, which also would have extended COBRA benefits and unemployment insurance, and complained that the debate caused him to miss the Kentucky-South Carolina basketball game.

Here’s video of ABC’s encounter with Bunning. Sadly, they didn’t capture him shooting the middle finger.

E-mail me or my colleague Gregg Carlstrom at slosey@federaltimes.com or gcarlstrom@federaltimes.com. We won’t publish your name if you’d prefer to remain anonymous.

It’s not because of the economy, though. The Senate needed to pass legislation last week to extend federal highway and transit programs — and the legislation was blocked by Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., who said he objected to the bill because it wasn’t deficit-neutral. The legislation stalled.

The result? The Transportation Department has to furlough nearly 2,000 employees, starting today, and ending… whenever the bill gets passed. Furloughs affect employees in four DOT divisions: The Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

A full statement on the furloughs, from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, is pasted after the jump.

I want to give you an update on the furlough of certain employees at the U.S. Department of Transportation that will begin on Monday, March 1.

The authority for spending funds from the Highway Trust Fund expires today, February 28, 2010. The Congress has adjourned and it is unlikely to resolve this issue before Monday morning.

As a result, the Department of Transportation will furlough nearly 2,000 employees without pay beginning Monday, March 1. I very much regret the hardship that this will cause to those employees and their families.

Furloughs will affect employees at the following agencies: the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

All employees at the Department of Transportation, including those who work in one of the four modes listed above, should report for work Monday morning as they normally would unless given specific alternate instructions.

DOT employees who do NOT work in one of these four modes are NOT affected and should follow their normal routines.

The Department is monitoring this situation very closely and is making every effort to identify potential solutions as quickly as possible.

The blocked legislation also contained an extension to federal unemployment benefits — so tens of thousands of people will lose their unemployment checks today.

Update: A commenter asks why DOT asked soon-to-be furloughed employees to show up this morning. The answer: The agency needed to figure out which employees were essential, and which were not; the latter group was sent home, and some of them were paid for three hours of work, the duration of time they spent in the office.

The federal government wants you to do this.

If you’re a federal employee, you can no longer text while driving on company time.

President Obama issued an Oct. 1 executive order banning federal employees from texting while driving for work, and that order took effect Wednesday. The order bans feds from using government-supplied electronics while driving, as well as texting while driving government-owned vehicles or while driving privately-owned vehicles on official government business.

Federal contracts are encouraged to adopt their own policies banning texting behind the wheel.

More than 4 million federal employees will be banned from texting on company time, according to a Transportation Department news release. Some agencies had a head start in banning texting: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood ordered all 58,000 agency employees to comply immediately with the president’s executive order.

The FAA has been operating under a series of extensions since its authorization expired in 2007, and the current extension expires Dec. 31. The House has passed a re-authorization bill in May, but the Senate has not taken it up due to a full calendar.

The temporary extension won’t be a surprise to the FAA, which has been operating under them since its authorization expired during the last Congress.

The sixth temporary extension expires Sept. 30. The new extension goes until Dec. 31 and allows the FAA to continue to collect and spend revenues.

The House passed a multiyear reauthorization bill, HR 915, in May, but the bill has stalled in the Senate, just as it did in the last Congress.

The Senate bill is tied up in the Senate Finance Committee, which deals with the revenue portions of the bill. That committee has been consumed with health care for much of this congressional session, so a timetable for progressing on the FAA reauthorization is unclear.

But it looks like those agencies aren’t the only ones working to ensure small businesses benefit from stimulus spending. The Transportation Department announced today that it has dedicated $20 million in Recovery Act funds to create a “Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Bonding Assistance Program.”

The program, which is run by the department’s Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization, allows small and disadvantaged businesses to apply for reimbursements for the bonding premiums and fees they pay when competing for transportation infrastructure projects, according to a department news release.

The program will help small and disadvantaged businesses better compete for Recovery Act-funded transportation projects by helping them get access to the money they need to participate in government contracting.

“These Recovery dollars will help level the playing field so these companies have the tools and resources they need to compete,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in the news release.

The announcements come just as SBA reported that agencies missed their 23 percent small business spending goal for the third year running. Last year, agencies spent approximately $94 billion, or 21.5 percent, of their contracting dollars through small businesses. The Obama administration said it hoped to reach those goals through improved education and outreach to small businesses and federal agencies.

For those readers who want to know when and where SBA and Commerce are holding or participating in events, I’m told SBA is compiling the list and will post it on the SBA Web site soon.

Winners of the 2009 White House Closing the Circle Awards — handed out Wednesday during the middle of the three-day 2009 Federal Environmental Symposium East in Bethesda, Md. –  are demonstrating best practices in areas such as recycling, green purchasing and fuel conservation.

The big winner was the Air Force, which received four awards for initiatives under way at local bases and headquarters. The Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office in Denver was the biggest individual winner, taking home two awards.

A complete list of the winners — along with some of their accomplishments — is after the jump.

Environmental management systems

Defense Supply Center, Richmond, Va.
Why it won: Increased number of alternative fuel vehicles, cut energy use in half by replacing florescent lights, contracted for a greenhouse gas emissions study

Federal Aviation Administration’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Why it won: Reduced non-hazardous industrial waste by recycling cardboard, cut gasoline use by purchasing electric vehicles and driving less, cut water consumption

Recycling

Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas
Why it won: Diverted more than 8,000 tons of solid waste in 2008 through recycling and reuse programs, saving base more than $1 million

General Services Administration’s National Capital Region, Washington, D.C.
Why it won: Recycled 8,400 tons of paper and 283 tons of cans and bottles in 2008, saving 27,300 cubic yards of landfill space

Alternative fuel and fuel conservation in transportation

Air Force’s Material Support Division, Washington, D.C.
Why it won: Purchased more than 1,000 low speed electric vehicles in 2008 and opened four new E-85 refueling stations

Treasury Department, Washington, D.C.
Why it won: Last year, cut overall fuel use by 2.6 percent, increased alternative fuel use by 1.8 percent, reduced total miles driven by 3.1 percent and cut number of vehicles by 4 percent

Water/pollution prevention

Army’s Fort Hood, Texas
Why it won: Established a community program for recycling electronics at the base, eliminating more than 320,000 pounds of electronic waste from entering landfills, and saved $150,000 by collecting used fuel and oil for recycling

Energy Department’s Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Why it won: Saved $277,000 in operating expenses by replacing Freon with non-ozone depleting solvent for chip cleaning operations and saved $800,000 in disposal costs by developing new crusher operation for drums contaminated from radioactive waste

Green purchasing

Robins Air Force Base, Ga.
Why it won: Purchased $610,000 in green products last year and saved $160,000 by using a paint gun filtration system for F-15 aircraft that reduces waste solvent usage by 83 percent

U.S. Postal Service, Washington, D.C.
Why it won: Rolled out new agencywide green purchasing plan and purchased about $90 million in recycled or environmentally preferable products in 2008

Electronics stewardship

Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 8 Office, Denver, Colo.
Why it won: Recycles 100 percent of non-reusable electronic equipment, which in 2008 saved 2.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity, cut 190,000 kilograms of greenhouse gases and reduced 13,400 kilograms of solid waste

Sustainable design/green buildings

Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
Why it won: Air Force Weather Agency headquarters building earned the Air Force’s first gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program

Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 8 Office, Denver, Colo.
Why it won: New regional headquarters building was certified gold by LEED by incorporating features such as a vegetative roof and an under-floor air distribution system

Sowing the Seeds for Change innovation award

Forest Service Deer River Ranger District, Chippewa National Forest, Minn.
Why it won: Made a reality television program to demonstrate how employees can work together to green their operations, generating ideas that have saved $32,000 to date

National Institutes of Health Office of Research Facilities, Bethesda, Md.
Why it won: Developed a protocol for safely handling hazardous materials during laboratory demolition projects that allows hazardous materials to be captured and non-hazardous materials to be recycled

The hacker breached 48 FAA files, two of which contained the personal information. Only employees on the payroll as of the first week of February 2006 are affected. Those individuals will be notified by letter and law enforcement has been notified, FAA said.

In a statement FAA said:

The FAA is moving quickly to prevent any similar incidents and has identified immediate steps as well as longer-term measures to further protect personal information. The agency is also providing a toll-free number and information on the employee website for those who believe they may be affected by the breach.

Air traffic control systems and other FAA operational systems were not compromised in the breach, according to the agency.

• Shaun Donovan to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
• Ray LaHood to be Secretary of Transportation.

In other confirmation news:

• Susan Rice, Obama’s choice for U.N. ambassador, was approved.
• Nancy Sutley was confirmed as chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
• And finally, Lisa Jackson was given the green light to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, after Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., lifted his objection to a vote by unanimous consent.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters signs off on special Santa Skylanes.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters signed what is perhaps the most important order of the year today: the one that allows Santa to fly his sleigh in military air space on Christmas Eve.

Dubbed “Santa Skylanes,” the expanded air space will help Santa — and commercial air traffic — navigate the nation’s busy airspace.

Here is what Peters had to say about this important order:

We know Santa Claus must adhere to a really tight schedule to get to every house on his list. Allowing him to use military airspace will ensure that crowded skies won’t mean empty stockings on Christmas morning. It just wouldn’t do to have the gridlock Grinch stealing Christmas.

These lanes were also opened to commercial air traffic, though not Santa, at Thanksgiving. Over that weekend the additional space was used by 2,400 flights.

It’s good news for the environment, but bad for the department, which depends largely on revenue from gas taxes to pay for highways and bridges. The Highway Trust Fund collected $3 billion less in 2008 than it did in 2007.

And it underscores a key problem facing our transportation policy. Washington wants more fuel-efficient vehicles, and that’s a laudable goal for many reasons. But how do we continue funding our transportation infrastructure when that funding depends on gasoline taxes?