Fri, Oct 17, 2003
Union's Just Not
Letting Go of This One
Official union statement:
National Air Traffic Controllers Association President John Carr
has again blasted a plan by House Aviation Subcommittee Chairman
John Mica, R-Fla., to trade towers for votes on the Federal
Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, calling the effort "a
total outrage and an affront to the American flying public."
"Chairman Mica wants to cherry-pick our National Airspace System
to garner votes," Carr said. "He wants to take federal air traffic
control towers off the chopping block for privatization in exchange
for votes from those respective Republican members of Congress to
pass privatization legislation that an overwhelming majority of his
Congressional colleagues and the American public opposes. It's
outrageous and it's bad public policy."
Continued Carr: "The
safety of the aviation system should never have to take a backseat
to political gamesmanship. The skin of this onion has finally
been peeled back. Now we can all see what Mica's proposal is all
about - it's not about the safety of the system, it's not about
efficiency and it's not about cost. It's about dirty politics and a
dangerous political ideology. What Chairman Mica's proposal says is
that our country is okay with a two-class system of safety in the
skies. If you are fortunate enough to live in a first class
Republican district, you are safe to fly. But if you live in
a second class Democratic district, all bets are off."
Mica held a hearing just last month in which he argued that all
towers are safe, including those that are privately run in this
country. Carr said that theory is now blown apart by Mica's
proposal. "Chairman Mica wants to create a two-tiered system of air
safety in this country to get votes. Clearly there is concern among
his Republican colleagues about the safety of their hometown towers
if they are privatized."
"The political game playing which our nation has witnessed on
this serious issue of safety has got to stop. Aviation safety is
neither a Republican nor Democratic issue and yet the political
process has been undermined time and time again. Our Congress
should not be forced to compromise on safety. Let's stop the game
playing and fix the conference report so the will of the Congress
and the public is served."
[The FAA affirms that this is not a 'safety' issue.
Therefore, we must assume it to be a 'politics' issue --ed.]
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