The U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS) has determined that the House plan to create a new organization to run the nation’s air traffic control (ATC) system could trigger mandatory government-wide sequestration cuts of $49 billion over the next 10 years. The CRS based that determination on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) finding that, as currently proposed, creating a new ATC organization would add nearly $100 billion to the federal deficit over a 10-year period. Backers of the ATC proposal have disputed the CBO finding, saying it does not reflect removing the organization from the federal budget.

But under government budget requirements, increases in budget deficits must be taken into account. And, under current law, “a sequester would be triggered which would require across-the-board cuts to non-exempt mandatory spending programs to make up for the amount of the debit,” the CRS said. These cuts would increase from $1.1 billion in the initial year to $10 billion 10 years out, according to the CRS.

Key Democrats are leveraging the CBO and CRS findings in their quest to solidify opposition to the ATC proposal. Reps. Pete DeFazio (D-Oregon), the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, and Rick Larsen (D-Washington) the top Democrat on the T&I aviation subcommittee, released the CRS finding, along with a letter to fellow lawmakers warning that the proposal could cause billions in cuts to programs such as Medicare and the Federal Emergency Management Agency National Flood Insurance Fund.

“The bill creates an enormous cloud of uncertainty over the future and safety of the U.S. aviation safety system and increases the deficit by almost $100 billion,” DeFazio and Larsen warned in their “Dear Colleague” letter.