The House today passed a bill that would allow the Transportation Department to reimburse 1,922 employees who were furloughed for two days last week.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who sponsored HR 4786, said the bill will allow Transportation to use $937,000 in already-obligated funds to reimburse employees furloughed March 1 and 2, and will not cost any additional money.

The employees were caught in the middle of a budgetary dispute after Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., blocked a bill to extend unemployment benefits and provide highway funding. Bunning had objected that the bill would add $10 billion to the deficit, but he relented March 2 and the bill passed.

Transportation said last week the highway funding bill did not provide funds to reimburse the employees and that the agency could not use other funds to pay them.

A congressional staffer said Transportation is now talking to key senators to get them to pass HR 4786 or a similar bill.

Connolly said Congress repaid furloughed employees during the last government shutdowns in late 1995 and early 1996.

"It was the right thing to do then, and it's the right thing to do now," Connolly said.

The furloughed employees were at the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

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