Senators Urge Full Funding Of FAA Contract Towers | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.21.25

Airborne-NextGen-04.22.25

AirborneUnlimited-04.23.25

Airborne-FltTraining-04.24.25

AirborneUnlimited-04.25.25

Fri, Jan 10, 2014

Senators Urge Full Funding Of FAA Contract Towers

Inhofe, Manchin Send A Letter To Leadership Of Appropriations Committee And Its Transportation Subcommittee

U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) (pictured) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) sent a letter Thursday to leadership members of the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) and the SAC's Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD) urging that members fully fund the FAA's Contract Tower Program.

"As you finalize negotiations on the fiscal year 2014 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, we urge you to include language ensuring full and dedicated funding for the Contract Tower Program as part of the fiscal year 2014 budget for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)," the Senators wrote in the letter.

"In response to mandatory sequestration cuts in 2013, FAA proposed to eliminate funding for 149 contract towers in the program, a disproportional cut that far exceeded the reductions to most areas of the agency's budget. If implemented, this dramatic cut and the closure of the identified towers would have increased traffic at the remaining contract and FAA-operated towers and hindered the safety and integrity of general aviation operations.

"The contract tower program is one of the FAA's most cost-effective programs. Contract towers handle approximately 28 percent of the nation's air traffic control tower operations but they account for only 14 percent of the FAA's total tower operations budget. Additionally, the average contract tower operates at one-third the cost of a federal control tower, though it is held to the same standard of excellence."

Inhofe has been deeply involved in an effort to keep the Contract Tower Program fully funded since the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced in March 2013 that it would be closing 149 of the then-251 FAA contract control towers as a result of sequestration budget cuts.

On April 17, Inhofe cosponsored the Protect Our Skies Act (S. 687) that would protect the cost-effective contract tower program and prohibit the DOT from closing any contract towers from FY 2013 to FY 2014.

On May 3, Inhofe and 41 Senate colleagues sent a letter to then-DOT Sec. Ray LaHood and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta urging the agencies to stop the planned tower closures after passage of the Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013 that provided the agencies flexibility to end FAA civilian furloughs and fund the contract tower program.

On May 10, Inhofe spoke to Sec. LaHood, and again urged him to use the authority of the Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013 to keep the contract towers open. Later that day, LaHood announced that he would use his authority to prevent any of the contract towers from being closed.

FMI: www.inhofe.senate.gov, Read the Letter

Advertisement

More News

Prelim Report On February A-20G Crash At Laredo

Engine Problem Led To Attempted Emergency Landing The National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, has released a preliminary report on the February crash of the historic Douglas>[...]

Airborne 04.23.25: CAF C-47 Skytrain, Tough Low-Level Drone Regs, NEW NOTAMs

Also: Astronaut Pettit & Cosmonauts Return, Malaysia Wants Boeing Slots, Germany Nixes Typhoon Sale, More Boeing Woes The CAF’s restored C-47 Skytrain “Ready 4 Duty>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.26.25)

“Reaching 1,000 flight hours for these rigorous training exercises alongside our Marine Corps and Air Force partners is a testament to the reliability and adaptability of the>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.26.25): Emergency Locator Transmitter

Emergency Locator Transmitter A radio transmitter attached to the aircraft structure which operates from its own power source on 121.5 MHz and 243.0 MHz. It aids in locating downed>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.26.25)

Aero Linx: KC-10 Extender The KC-10 Extender is an Air Mobility Command advanced tanker and cargo aircraft designed to provide increased global mobility for U.S. armed forces. Alth>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC