September 16, 2003

Senator Lautenberg Declares FAA
Conference Report and Bush Admin.
Attempts to Privatize Air Traffic
Control System Dead On Arrival

WASHINGTON, D.C. - During a news conference this morning, United States Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) declared the FAA Reauthorization Conference Report dead on arrival as a result of the Bush Administration's insistence that it include language allowing for the privatization of the nation's Air Traffic Control System. Senator Jay Rockefeller joined Lautenberg at today's event.

This bill the Bush Administration wants passed represents a threat to the safety of the traveling public that both bodies of Congress voted to outlaw," said Senator Lautenberg. "The White House is pushing their malformed "privatization/contracting out" agenda so far that they would nickel and dime our safety and security. This is safety and security on the cheap."

Senator Lautenberg and Senator Rockefeller, the Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee's Aviation Subcommittee, offered legislation today to extend funding for important aviation programs that would otherwise lapse on September 30. Proponents of the flawed conference report tried to bully Congress into passing it by claiming that failure to do so would hold up funding for airport construction projects all over the country. This bill would also address immediate safety and security needs including a prohibition on privatization of the nation's air traffic control system and restriction on implementing CAPPS II, the updated computer system that uses personal data to profile air travelers for security purposes.

On September 11th, the nation's air traffic control system worked flawlessly to guide some 5,000 aircraft to safety. And again, during the blackouts last month, the air traffic control system remained on-line to guide aircraft safely around the 6 major airports shut down due to the blackout. It was also available for national defense purposes- to track and communicate with aircraft during times of widespread turmoil, noted Lautenberg.

"If we've learned one thing from September 11th, it's that people rely on government to perform important safety and security functions," Senator Lautenberg said. "If the public demanded that the baggage screeners who check luggage become federalized, why in the world would the public tolerate privatizing the system? This is one of those vital government functions too important to allow privateers to perform and each body of Congress said so."