Ted Poe: “the FAA, in a report mandated by Congress in the Vision of 100 Act, reported that over the next 10 years, 73 percent of…”

“the FAA, in a report mandated by Congress in the Vision of 100 Act, reported that over the next 10 years, 73 percent of the agency's nearly 15,000 air traffic controllers will become eligible to retire. Total losses over this time are expected to be 11,000. More than 649 million passengers flew our Nation's skies last year. As America's aviation system continues to expand, we must ensure we have the proper number of trained air traffic controllers to make travel move efficiently and safely. FAA's current staffing plan calls for the hiring and training of 12,000 controllers over the next 10 years. While the underlying bill provides just under $25 million, up from $9.5 million in the fiscal year 2005 to do this, I believe it falls short and fails to account for the immediate specific staffing needs as well as additional controllers for expected increases in traffic volume, an expected 5 percent training failure rate, and the higher- than-normal retirement rates beyond 2014. This amendment simply would add $24.875 million to the FAA's Air Traffic Services account which would double the funding called for in the bill to better address short-term and long-term air traffic controller staffing and training needs. It reduces overall spending in the bill by 4.5 percent for Amtrak. Amtrak continues to operate at a deficit and requires substantial taxpayer subsidies to operate.…”