Senator Demands Return of $31 Million in Airport Funds
An Arizona senator has written to Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan demanding that the city return $31 million to the Los Angeles International Airport or risk having federal funding of the airport reduced by a similar amount.
Republican John McCain accused Riordan of engineering the transfer from the airport to the city’s general fund to circumvent newly passed congressional legislation. Last week, the airport reimbursed the money in loans dating back as far as 70 years, just before Congress gave final approval to legislation that would set a six-year statute of limitations on such claims.
“This middle-of-the-night, improper transfer of LAX funds will be viewed as a violation of the spirit of these new provisions,” McCain wrote.
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