House panel approves plan to privatize air traffic control

[Little Tich]

Source: Yahoo! News / Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives panel approved legislation to privatize the U.S. air traffic control system on Thursday as part of a six-year bill to authorize funding for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Democrats failed in their attempt to amend the legislation to retain the flight service as part of the FAA.

By a 32-26 vote along party lines, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee sent the measure to the floor for consideration by the full House.

Republicans, including committee Chairman Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania, say air traffic control must be transferred to the private sector to protect the system from deficit reductions and government shutdowns and to ensure timely upgrade of decades-old technology.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/house-panel-approves-plan-privatize-air-traffic-control-011641630--business.html

[elleng]

1. 'to protect the system from deficit reductions and government shutdowns and to ensure timely upgrade

of decades-old technology,' in other words, to protect the system from 'US,' that is, CONGRESS!

[Wilms]

5. I was cutting to paste that.

They must be soul-less. They are clean shaven, and that takes looking in a mirror.

[PSPS]

16. Actually, I think they see it as a way to really "shut down the government."

The last time the GOP "shut down the government," they were forced to back down only after their constituents (i.e., billionaires in their private jets and billionaire CEO's of airlines) found that they were being inconvenienced. With a privatized (i.e., profitized) ATC system, they could "shut down the government" without inconveniencing their plutocratic constituents.

[Pakhet]

29. ^^THIS

You guys are so smart...always able to say what I'm trying to explain. Thank you

[cynzke]

38. Like Passage of ACA...

Leaving insurance companies in place to administer/control health care. The true goal here is a chance to privatize another government controlled service. The "protection" claim is just a ruse. And what about the cost? Will these business have free reign to charge what ever they like? Who will regulate this, the feds, states? This will create the same mess as ACA does by leaving a private industry (insurance companies) in place whose first motivation is profit.

[tinrobot]

2. If privatization turns out like Flint's water...

... flying may become hazardous to your health.

Anything involving the safety of the population should never be privatized.

[airplaneman]

21. Anything you want cost effective and in the interest of all should never be privatized.

Private corporations could care less about anything but profit and will charge whatever they can get by with without regard to how it affects others.
-Airplane

[cynzke]

39. People Complain About ACA, And

here is Congress doing the same thing. Putting air traffic control into the hands of a private industry. Who and how is it going to be regulated? Will the cost be relative to the area served? Where will the revenue to pay these companies come from? Will they be paid by federal or state taxes? Will the burden be shared equally or will the cost, like health insurance vary by state, area. Will traffic controllers pay vary from state to state? The platform (private insurance companies) to deliver health care in this country is a giant mishmash service and costs and so will this likely to end up the same way. Look how well privatizing prisons is (not) working.

[deathrind]

3. Lol...

"Republicans, including committee Chairman Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania, say air traffic control must be transferred to the private sector to protect the system from deficit reductions and government shutdowns and to ensure timely upgrade of decades-old technology."

So in reality he is saying the system must protected from republicans...amazing.

[jalan48]

4. Reagan broke their union just over 30 years ago.

Now they are to be privatized. Welcome to the US Govt. Inc.

[Ford_Prefect]

6. There is NO reason or Purpose to this bill other than to give over-ridding control of air traffic

to the commercial carriers and no-one else.

[Major Nikon]

20. At least someone is literally getting screwed

That someone being the Republican Chairman of the House T&I committee.

Shuster admits relationship with airline lobbyist

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/bill-shuster-admits-personal-relationship-with-lobbyist-117054

[benh57]

27. I wouldn't think the airlines would like this

They are the ones who will be charged by this 'private' company, surely. Then they will pass those costs on, making flying more expensive and reducing use.

[Major Nikon]

28. They are the ones who wrote the bill

Screwster is on their payroll and does as he's told.

[pangaia]

7. This would be a total disaster...

For Profit ATC!!

hell No...

[valerief]

8. Privatization always works out well. For the .1%. The rest of us are fucked. nt

[mountain grammy]

9. Calling all vultures, come and get it..

The US government is for sale.

[trillion]

10. Bet it will be a no bid contract that ends up with a corporation that wants to cut cost everywhere

they can so the hire the cheapest people with the least experience and understaff, immediately.

[NV Whino]

11. Oh boy, now I'm really not going to fly.

[Major Nikon]

12. Strangely enough they want to make the US more like Canada

Even though the US has the largest and safest ATC system in the world.

I flew through Canada last August in a private plane. Canada ATC sux, which was my assessment as well as the opinion of every Canadian pilot I spoke to.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. I hope this dies on the vine. No operation whose primary function is safety

should be a for-profit business. Bad things can happen when profit is the primary motivation.

[libodem]

14. OMG

That makes me cringe. All the homeland security and now just anyone can direct air traffic.

I'm sick of Republicans' trying to privatize for profit everyfuckingthing.

(Punching them out in my imaginary ninja suit.)

[Plucketeer]

15. Call me crazy

but I'm thinking we need a political revolution. One that gives us the means to ROUT the Re-dunce-lican scourge from congress and send them back to their private sector pursuits. Bye-bye!

[tk2kewl]

17. File under "what could possibly go wrong?"

[tclambert]

18. No, no, no, you shouldn't privatize anything to do with health or safety.

The profit motive will always encourage private companies to cut corners and take risks until something dreadful happens. With air traffic controllers they would try to reduce the workforce, cut training, force longer hours with fewer controllers, not repair or update the systems when they should, and then blame an individual controller when two airliners collide in mid-air over downtown.

[Downwinder]

19. Privatization would entail a lot of liability which the Government does not have.

[bluevoter4life]

22. I am an FAA Controller

I am vehemently opposed to this bill, despite the Union throwing it's support behind it. Once I am able to get off my phone and type out the reasons why on a computer I will do so. I can answer any questions in the meantime.

[Major Nikon]

24. Is the controller's union president also screwing the airlines' lobbyist?

[bluevoter4life]

32. One if our concerns is this

For those unaware, Bill Shuster's #5 individual contributor is American Airlines, his #2 industrial contributor is the Air Transport industry, and he has admitted to a relationship with a lobbyist (VP to be exact) of Airlines For America. Though it does a good job of protecting our collective bargaining rights, many of the membership feels the Union took a very myopic approach to supporting this bill.

[bemildred]

35. Ah, the Congressperson is screwing the lobbyist. nt

[bananas]

43. Bookmarking this thread, looking forward to your response. nt

[Duckfan]

23. It's Ronald Ray-Gun all over again cira 1980

What a wonderful idea! Let's privatize the controllers at say, LAX and hire some college graduate at $10.00 and have him/her direct several inbound/outbound flights with little training. That aircraft and pilot depend on a skilled controller keeping aircraft at the altitude and away from other planes moving in different directions.

I can't wait for next November. These insane bastards need to go ASAP.

[glinda]

25. Next question: Do they now OWN the airspace?

[bemildred]

34. I like that, maybe we could sell off our airspace too.

[FuzzyRabbit]

26. Minimum wage air traffic controllers?

What could possibly go wrong?

[Helen Borg]

31. Minimum wage nuclear reactor controllers?

[whereisjustice]

30. They will outsource ATC to India. Seriously. They will. That's all they know how to do...

This is a bid for Wall Street to make a ton of money with cheap, unregulated labor. It's going to go to India. They'll run it like a call center. It's all they know.

[bemildred]

33. Another reason not to fly. nt

[cynzke]

36. Danger In The Air......

Meets the ground. You don't have to fly to be at risk.

[bemildred]

37. I used to fly a lot until the airlines made it unpleasant so they could sell comfort.

We are always at risk, the question is whether the risk of flying is worth it. I decided it wasn't. It's not that great.

[BoyBlue2]

40. Right now the ATC is non-profit

and it provides a very decent service at high quality. Aviation is highly regulated and when those regulations are broken or not followed people die. When services are privatized they "self regulate" and when they fail at that they pass the cost of their failure on to the tax payer. This is how they make their money, take a look at BP, they made insane profits but didn't pay for the blow-out protector because it was going to cost them and had NO contingency plan at the ready. Watch and wait for the first big disaster after the ATC goes private. One question is; where is their profit going to be squeezed from? The statement that ATC needs to be protected from financial shut down and that they need to modernize the infrastructure doesn't make sense because NO private company is going to invest in improvements unless they are guaranteed a profit. Profit over people is the new order.

[mahina]

41. Thank you for posting this.

Every day they sink lower, it seems.

My brain couldn't even grasp this when I first read your post last night.

[bluevoter4life]

42. This is an awful bill for a number of reasons

1) It takes away the 50/50 relationship NATCA currently enjoys with the FAA and hands it over to an 11-member BOD, in which the airlines have potentially up to 6 seats, and NATCA has one.

2) The bill contradicts itself saying General Aviation is exempt from user fees, but later on goes to state that the Corporation has the authority to impose fees on the users of the system in order to raise revenue. This is what killed GA in other countries.

3) It gives the ATC Corporation (ATCC) the authority to (paraphrased) "…dispose of facilities at their discretion in order to meet the needs of the Corporation." This is the passage that disturbs me (and my colleagues) the most. Many of us controllers work at airports with less than 150,000 annual operations. What happens to us? My guess is we are left out in the cold.

4) It calls for a quorum of a simple majority of the BOD. This means 6. See point #1.

5) It gives ATCC the authority to withhold air traffic services for non-payment under certain criteria. I believe this will add a policing duty to our jobs, in a system that is open to the public under any circumstance (provided they carry the proper certifications of course).

6) During times of war, it gives the President the authority to transfer employees of ATCC to the DOD. Does this mean we get the benefits of the DOD? Does this mean we can be shipped to a war zone?

This bill is a dangerous item to consider. I urge everyone to contact their Congresscritter and tell them to say NO. This is NOT a Democrat or Republican issue. Air Traffic Control is an inherently governmental function. It is critical to the national defense, another government function, and MUST be treated as such. I can answer any questions anyone has about this bill. I have read it thoroughly.