Big Difference Between 'Contract' and 'Private'

It didn't take long for our publication of an AOPA press release to ruffle some feathers in the FAA's bunker near the Potomac. Upon opening my email (and after deleting the usual 300 spams), we found a gem from Bill Shumann, who is in the FAA's public relations area.

Moments later, another appeared, from Paul Turk, who works in the same place.

Here's Mr. Shumann's message:

"In yesterday's item on the FAA reauthorization bill, you state: 'The FAA and the White House would like to see the air traffic centers in the hands of private industry.' The statement is not attributed to anyone; more importantly, it's wrong. Please show me a statement from anyone in the FAA or White House to that effect."

He continued, "A distinction that often gets overlooked in the current debate is the difference between 'contacting out' and 'privatization.' The former means the government hires and pays a contractor to perform a service under federal supervision, such as operating a contract tower. The latter means the function or service is turned over to a  private sector organization that charges for the service and is not reimbursed by the government."

In case we still didn't understand (as apparently a lot of the union and AOPA folks didn't), he added, "Privatization of ATC similar to Canada and the U. K. would require congressional approval, which, for several reasons, isn't going to happen."

[Thank you, Bill. Your message has come in loud and clear--ed.]

FMI: www.faa.gov