Opposition to a proposal to separate the U.S. air traffic control organization continues to mount on Capitol Hill, with U.S. House Appropriations Committee leaders saying they cannot support a plan that limits congressional oversight. The House Appropriations leaders voiced their opposition in a February 1 letter to the top leadership of the full House.
The letter comes less than a week after Senate Appropriations leaders wrote a similar letter to the Senate Commerce Committee and just a few days before the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee is expected to unveil a comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill that would carve out the ATC organization. T&I Committee chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) today announced a press conference tomorrow at the Capitol Visitor Center at 11:30 a.m. to unveil the bill, with a discussion about it scheduled to take place on Thursday at the National Press Club.
Similar to their Senate colleagues, the House appropriators wrote, âWe do not believe that creating a separate air traffic entity, removed from congressional oversight, will advance the efforts to modernize air traffic control.â They agreed that the FAA can improve and accelerate NextGen but said, âWe do not believe the solution is less oversight and less accountability.â