Tue, Nov 04, 2003
Big Difference Between 'Contract' and 'Private'
It didn't take long for
our publication of an AOPA press release to ruffle some feathers in
the FAA's bunker near the Potomac. Upon opening my email (and after
deleting the usual 300 spams), we found a gem from Bill Shumann,
who is in the FAA's public relations area.
Moments later, another appeared, from Paul Turk, who works in
the same place.
Here's Mr. Shumann's message:
"In yesterday's item on the FAA reauthorization bill, you state:
'The FAA and the White House would like to see the air traffic
centers in the hands of private industry.' The statement is not
attributed to anyone; more importantly, it's wrong. Please show me
a statement from anyone in the FAA or White House to that
effect."
He continued, "A distinction that often gets
overlooked in the current debate is the difference between
'contacting out' and 'privatization.' The former means the
government hires and pays a contractor to perform a service under
federal supervision, such as operating a contract tower. The latter
means the function or service is turned over to a private
sector organization that charges for the service and is not
reimbursed by the government."
In case we still didn't understand (as apparently a lot of the
union and AOPA folks didn't), he added, "Privatization of ATC
similar to Canada and the U. K. would require congressional
approval, which, for several reasons, isn't going to happen."
[Thank you, Bill. Your message has come in loud and
clear--ed.]
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