CRITICAL HOUSE VOTE SET FOR THURSDAY ON CLOSURE OF FLIGHT SERVICE STATIONS
- Details
- Published: July 18, 2013
Congressional Support Needed
WASHINGTON, DC—A critical vote in the U.S. House of Representatives is set for Thursday on an amendment that would prevent the closure of 38 flight service stations.
Earlier this year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded a private contract for all 58 flight service stations that would ultimately close 38 of these facilities. The contract, scheduled to go into effect October 1, 2005, would risk irreversibly damaging the safety of the American aviation system.
The Sanders-Herseth-Hostettler amendment (to HR 3058, House Transportation, Treasury, HUD, Judiciary, and District of Columbia appropriations bill) would prevent that contract from going into effect and stop the closure of any automated flight service stations. In doing so, it would ensure that all vital air safety functions remain the responsibility of federal employees. Representative Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) will introduce the amendment Thursday, with a vote to follow shortly thereafter.
“The safety of our skies is a fundamental government responsibility and the functions performed by employees in the air traffic control system should remain the responsibility of the federal government,” said Tom Brantley, national president of the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS), the union representing FAA technical employees who maintain and certify critical equipment and facilities used by personnel in all flight service stations. “We urge members of Congress to act in the best interest of the flying public and support the Sanders-Herseth-Hostettler amendment.”
Flight service stations, and the specialists who work at these locations, provide a variety of services, including weather briefings, en route communications, flight planning and search-and-rescue services, to the more than 600,000 general aviation pilots as well as additional services to military and commercial pilots. These specialists are represented by the National Association of Air Traffic Specialists (NAATS).
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PASS represents more than 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense who install, maintain, support and certify air traffic control and national defense equipment, inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation industries, develop flight procedures and perform quality analyses of the aviation systems. For more information, visit the PASS website at www.passnational.org.