SENATE MAJORITY LEADER Harry Reid said Congress reached an agreement to fund the Federal Aviation Administration, the Associated Press reported.

The agreement ends a partial shutdown of the agency that left 74,000 transportation and construction employees out of work and 40 safety inspectors working without pay.

When FAA financing expired last month, the agency also lost the ability to collect taxes on airline tickets. Those taxes amount to about $30 million a day and are paid into a trust fund that pays for much of its operations.

The impasse centered on disagreements between Republicans and Democrats over a program that subsidizes commercial air service to rural airports.

But behind the scenes, a larger fight has been taking place over federal rules on labor elections in the airline industry.

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