WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration says that it has suspended employee furloughs and that air-traffic facilities will begin returning to regular staff levels by tonight.

The announcement came a day after Congress passed legislation to allow the agency to withdraw the furloughs — fallout from the $85 billion in automatic, across-the-board spending cuts this spring.

They started to hit air- traffic controllers last week, causing flight delays that left thousands of travelers frustrated and furious.

Republicans accused the Obama administration of forcing the furloughs to raise public pressure on Congress to roll back budget cuts. The White House says the FAA fix left the rest of the cuts intact.