"WASHINGTON (AP) — Busted guitars, mangled cellos, broken banjos, lost lutes — musicians who rely on airlines to get them to performances have seen it all.
Two years ago, Congress stepped in to help, directing the Department of Transportation to write rules to make sure instruments don't get damaged or lost. The rules were due Friday, but the department hasn't even started writing them, citing a lack of money."
"We're working to find funding to support the kind of regulatory evaluations that are required to do the rulemaking," Transportation spokeswoman Meghan Keck said.
The department, which regulates airlines on matters that affect consumers, asked for money in this year's budget for four more staff members to write new agency regulations but was turned down by Congress.
The rules are supposed to implement a law requiring airlines to store instruments in closets and in overhead bins where they fit. Travelers would be allowed to buy seats for larger instruments weighing less than 165 pounds.
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