Two Republicans And One Democrat Co-Sponsoring The Bill In The U.S. House

Congressmen Tom Cotton (R-AR-04), Bruce Braley (D-IA-01), and Richard Hudson (R-NC-08) (pictured, L-R) have introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to restore funding for contractor-operated air traffic control towers in the U.S.

Funding for the towers was cut due to sequestration. The FAA said that because of the way the Department of Transportation is structured, there was no other way for the department to meet its budget reduction targets other than to close 149 contract control towers. The three representatives say their bill, H.R. 1432, the Air Traffic Control Tower Funding Restoration Act, would restore funding for contractor-operated air-traffic-control towers without appropriating new funds.

“Last month, the FAA announced it would direct what we believe are a disproportionate share of their sequestration cuts towards the Federal Contract Towers program budget. During Senate consideration of fiscal year 2013 appropriations last month, Senator Moran (R-KS) led a bipartisan group of senators in offering an amendment to provide funding to the contract towers," the Congressmen said in a prepared statement. "Unfortunately, the amendment was not brought up for a vote, meaning 150 air-traffic-control towers will close on June 15, and an additional 16 towers will shut down by year’s end.

"Local air-traffic-control towers have served a vital role in our country’s aviation infrastructure for over 30 years and are integral to the success of local businesses and rural communities. They prove to be a safe, cost-effective alternative to federally operated towers in low-traffic areas and should not be closed without an opportunity to evaluate alternative approaches the FAA could take within its operating budget.

“In the interim, the Air Traffic Control Tower Funding Restoration Act would provide control-tower funding through a rescission of unobligated funds within the current FAA budget. We urge the FAA to reevaluate these impending cuts and look forward to working with our colleagues as this legislation advances.”

A companion bill was to have been introduced in the Senate Wednesday, but a news conference called by a group of Senators including Jerry Moran (R-KS), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), James Inhofe (R-OK), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN.), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), and David Vitter (R-LA) to announce the bill was postponed and has not yet been rescheduled.

FMI: http://cotton.house.gov, http://braley.house.gov, http://hudson.house.gov