U.S. Senate appropriations leaders have reiterated their concerns about the push to create an independent air traffic control organization, telling their Senate colleagues in a letter this week that such an effort would be “devastating [to] a core component of our economy.” The February 28 letter, sent to Senate Commerce Committee chairman John Thune (R-South Dakota) and ranking Democrat Bill Nelson (D-Florida), marked one of the strongest objections yet from the Appropriations Committee on the issue.
Appropriations Committee chairman Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi) and ranking Democrat Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) joined transportation appropriations subcommittee leaders Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) in their opposition to the concept.
Airline organizations, chief proponents of the user-funded independent ATC concept, have renewed their call for such reform and are expected to once again make their case during today’s U.S. Chamber of Commerce 16th Annual Aviation Summit. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania) also has expressed a strong desire to revisit ATC reform after his proposal to separate the ATC functions from the FAA was shelved last year.
His counterpart in the Senate, Thune, has been open to the concept, but reluctant to take action on a proposal that stood little chance of passage in the Senate. Nelson, meanwhile, has remained strongly against it.
The Senate appropriators last year voiced their opposition to the proposal and this week’s letter gives notice that their positions have not changed. They noted progress on NextGen, saying it “is delivering real cost-saving benefits that are improving the way air traffic flows,” and praised the FAA for its efforts to upgrade the system. “The FAA has done a commendable job balancing diverse stakeholder priorities while rolling out new NextGen capabilities.”
They expressed concern that progress on NextGen “would be lost” should ATC be separated from the FAA. “It does not appear to make sense to break apart the FAA, an essential part of our success in aviation,” they said.
A key objection of theirs is the lack of congressional oversight that would come with such proposals. “The public would not be well served by exempting any part of the FAA from annual oversight.” Structures proposed would provide consumers with no recourse like they have with the Department of Transportation or U.S. Congress, they said.
The senators also disputed claims about a lack of stable funding for the FAA, saying those assertions are “simply inaccurate.” They noted that the FAA has been provided more than 99 percent of its requested Air Traffic Organization funding since 2008, and that funding remains a priority.
NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen praised the letter, saying it “provides an important reminder about the need for congressional oversight of aviation-system decision making. America’s system of airports and airspace serves the public interest, including the people, businesses and communities that rely on general aviation.”
