Frank Lautenberg: “For starters, it exempted the State of Alaska. Of course, that has something to do with the fact the chairman of the…”

“For starters, it exempted the State of Alaska. Of course, that has something to do with the fact the chairman of the House Transportation Committee is from Alaska. He did not want his airports privatized. He was very specific. He said: Of course, the criticism of myself is that I exempted the State of Alaska, and here is the reason for that. One, he describes Juneau Field itself to be going under Capstone next year so it would not be eligible to be contracted out. The Merrill Field is a real complex issue. He winds up saying that the airplanes take off right toward my hotel room every morning. I look out and there is one coming right at me. It is an interesting experience and I want to make sure everything is done right in that field. He does not want Acme air controllers to be there perhaps in the middle of a labor dispute or something like that. He wants to know that the tried and trusted hand of the FAA as it is presently composed continues. If he thinks that exempting Alaska is a good idea, let the other States have an exemption, too. The other 49 should just as well be exempt.”