|
Action Call March 7, 2013 Please call your U.S. Senators today and urge them to treat the contract tower program equitably and fairly with respect to the FAA’s plans to shutter the program as a result of sequestration. Yesterday, the House of Representatives took the first step in averting a government shutdown and approved a Continuing Resolution (CR) that will fund the government through September 30th. Now, the Senate is expected to begin consideration of a CR and any differences to the House passed version will need to be reconciled before it can be sent to the President for signature. NATA has been working to educate Members of Congress on the impact of the Obama Administration’s decision to close 75% of the contract towers. While many lawmakers are sympathetic the House ultimately decided to keep any changes in cuts focused on restoring or reducing cuts in defense and veterans’ programs and activities. Under the Obama Administration’s current proposal, FAA programs, projects, and activities will be reduced by 5% while the contract tower program will shoulder a 75% reduction (189 contract towers out of 251 total contract towers). This dramatic cut will most certainly have a negative impact on safety, emergency medical operations, and some military flights. The contract tower program is one of the most successful and cost effective programs under the FAA’s purview and costs approximately $130 million annually. With a cut similar to what other FAA programs are taking under sequestration, the contract tower program would be reduced by $6.5 million. However, because the program is not a “line item” in the budget, the FAA decided to cut $50 million and reduce the number of contract towers across the country by 75%. As we are six months into the current fiscal year, at least half of the $130 million has already been expended. Therefore, this additional cut essentially shuts down the contract tower program. We are quickly running out of time and the current partisan atmosphere in Washington over sequestration is not helping. However, including language in the Senate CR that identifies the contract tower program as a “line item” will then require the FAA to equitably distribute funding reductions in a fair and reasonable manner. Please make your calls today. Please click on the links for phone numbers of your Senators; Staff Contact: Jim Coon
To opt out of receiving emails from this list, please reply to this email with the subject “unsubscribe”. |
