James Oberstar: “Mr. Speaker, safety is not just one issue. Safety is a multiplicity of overlying redundancies. Safety depends on the…”

“Mr. Speaker, safety is not just one issue. Safety is a multiplicity of overlying redundancies. Safety depends on the interaction of the human and the technological. What I object to in this proceeding is the lack of process, a lack of opportunity for debate on the future of the air traffic control system. Make no mistake about it, this debate is about the future of air traffic control in America. This is about how our air traffic control system will be managed in the future and by whom. It should be done in the public interest, not in the private interest. All that stands between the traveling public and a failure at seven miles in the air or on the ground is our air traffic controller and the equipment he will or she operates. We must keep it in the public sector.”