|
Scott T. Morrissy
Street address
Lakewood, CA Zip Code
January 7, 2003
Senator Diane Feinstein
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-0504
Dear Sen. Feinstein:
The purpose of this letter is to request your assistance in a matter of
utmost importance. I am a registered voter in the
39th District and wish your assistance in preventing harm to our
national airspace system. I am a federal employee, an FG-2152, Air Traffic
Control Specialist at the Flight Service Station located in
Hawthorne. I am proud of the work I do
assisting pilots and their passengers to safely reach their destinations.
Here is some background information regarding Flight Service:
-
Like the rest of Air Traffic Control
(ATC), Flight Service deals with safety of lives and property, both in the
air and on the ground. This important duty in itself makes Flight Service an
inherently governmental function.
-
Weather is the Number One causal
factor in aviation accidents, as well as the greatest contributor to
fatalities. Between 1987 and 1996, weather accounted for fully one third of
U.S. airline accidents.
-
Flight Service�s primary expertise
and responsibility is weather, but it is not our sole responsibility.
-
On September 11, 2001, FAA Flight
Service Stations were the primary source of vital information for other ATC
facilities, airports, and the nation�s general and business aviation
communities.
-
Flight Service provided critical
information to other FAA facilities and airports as the National Airspace
System executed emergency shutdown immediately after the attacks. In the
days that followed, Flight Service disseminated and, most importantly,
explained the complex restrictions to flight as the NAS gradually reopened.
-
Today, Flight Service continues to
be responsible for disseminating Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs),
including those for Presidential movement, to the pilots we serve.
On 7 December 2000, President
Clinton enacted Executive Order 13180, which established an Air Traffic
Performance-Based Organization as "an inherently governmental function." On
6 June 2002, President Bush amended EO13180, removing the language, "an
inherently governmental function," from the Order. In addition, the
Competitive Sourcing Initiative in the President�s Management Agenda
encourages all federal agencies to subject commercial functions currently
performed by government personnel to competition from the private sector to
improve performance and cost efficiency.
In an effort to save money, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hired
a private contractor, Grant Thornton, LLP to conduct a competitive sourcing
study of the Flight Service Station (FSS) functions in accordance with
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76 policy. The purpose of
this study is to determine whether it is more efficient and cost effective
to have FSS functions performed by FAA employees or by a contractor.
Unfortunately, aviation safety and national security are not among the
study�s criteria. Neither is liability for operational errors and accidents.
The FAA�s past experiences with
contract employees is also not part of the study. Consider these facts about
the FAA�s record regarding current and past contracts:
-
The FAA�s record in managing its
current contracts is quite dismal. According to Ken Mead, Department of
Transportation (DOT) Inspector General, contract tower and weather services
have not been provided at "contract specified levels" and "some contactors
have been compensated for services that were not performed."
-
During an audit by the DOT Inspector
General, the FAA claimed to be unable to find their current contract
documents.
-
The FAA�s acquisition record is no
better. Examining such programs as the Operational and Supportability System
(OASIS), Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS), Sector
Suite for the Enroute Centers, Weather and Radar Processor (WARP), and
contract weather observers shows that cost overruns have become an
unfortunate tradition in the FAA.
Is it really in our nation�s best
interest to allow the FAA to contract out more services only to waste more
of our tax dollars through lack of proper oversight?
I strongly support sensible efforts to save money. There are many areas
where modernization of old, outdated equipment and FAA procedures could
yield significant cost savings without compromising safety.
The A-76 study is based solely on the lowest cost . Safety,
security, quality, quality of service, liability and performance have no
bearing on the matter. Furthermore, contractors operate on a for profit
basis. The inclination to cut costs to maximize profits would have a
deleterious effect on the safety and security of our nation�s skies.
Your assistance in stopping this process and ensuring the high level of
service that has helped to make our air traffic system the safest in the
world will be deeply appreciated. Please join with your colleague Senator
Orrin Hatch in supporting the important work we do. I ask you to sponsor and
support legislation recognizing Flight Service as critical to the safety and
security of our nation�s aviation system by re-designating Flight Service,
along with all Air Traffic Control, an "inherently governmental" function.
Please feel free to contact me if I can provide any additional information.
Sincerely,
Scott T. Morrissy
|