Patty Murray: “I oppose the motion to close debate on the FAA reauthorization bill. While I strongly support the bill's authorized…”

“I oppose the motion to close debate on the FAA reauthorization bill. While I strongly support the bill's authorized funding for infrastructure and operations for our Nation's aviation system, I am troubled that this bill still gives the Administration too much leeway to privatize our Nation's air traffic control, ATC, system. We know this administration is eager to privatize government jobs even when it costs more money and does not improve productivity. We also know that air traffic control involves special considerations like safety, cost and flight delays. That's why both the House and Senate passed amendments to the FAA bill to explicitly limit the administration's ability to privatize FAA-controlled towers. I voted for the Lautenberg Amendment in June, and it passed the Senate 56-41. You would have thought that the White House would recognize that it was on the wrong side of this bipartisan issue. But instead of accepting this reality, the White House pressured the members of the conference committee to remove the limiting language during the first conference. Regrettably, a majority on the conference committee followed the White House's request. In its place, the conferees added new language that goes even further in supporting privatization. That new language would allow 69 of current FAA controlled towers to be eligible for privatization. Eleven of those towers are among the 50 busiest in the nation, including Boeing Field in Seattle.”