The Republican Party of Florida pulled no punches Tuesday slamming President Obama and Senate Democrats for playing politics with the nation's air traffic controllers, accusing them of purposefully withholding federal funds in order to make the sequester seem more severe than it really is.
"Instead of reducing costs and waste elsewhere in their budget, the [Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)] is instituting a furlough of air traffic controllers that is dangerous and completely unnecessary, RPOF chairman Lenny Curry said in a statement released by the Florida GOP. Instead of providing leadership and prioritizing federal spending, the Obama administration is now using the sequester to play politics with air travelers and the airline industry, hurting families and workers across our state. That's why I'm proud to have a governor like Rick Scott, willing to take Obama to task for negatively impacting Florida."
The statement was poignantly titled, "Obama Flight Delays: Senate Dems, Obama Administration Had Ability to Stop FAA Furloughs, but Did Nothing.
Curry's criticism was based on Senate Democrats having blocked two pieces of legislation introduced last month by Republicans Jerry Moran of Kansas and Roy Blunt of Missouri, either of which would have directed enough funds to the FAA to prevent the temporary unpaid leave of air traffic controllers.
"This week the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began furloughing each of its air-traffic controllers for one day out of every 10 to achieve roughly $600 million in savings this fiscal year, according to an editorial that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Monday. In case there's any doubt about the president's ability to prioritize, at least two GOP senators, Jerry Moran and Roy Blunt, have written bills to clarify Mr. Obama's authority to make sensible spending decisions. He's not interested, and Senate Democrats have blocked such reforms. Making smart choices about federal spending would spoil the fun of creating flight delays and then blaming Republicans."
The top senators on the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Democratic chairman Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and ranking Republican John Thune of South Dakota, have written a lettercriticizing the Obama administration for its consistently ... slow and disturbingly limited responses to multiple Senate inquiries on the foreseen effects of sequestration on the nation's air transportation system.
Many stakeholders argue that you have flexibility within your budget to avoid or minimize air traffic controller furloughs and the closure of the contract control towers, they wrote Monday.
Several congressmen insist President Obama and the FAA can end the furloughs, even without additional legislation, by cutting government spending on consultants, grant programs, and other areas.
Reach Eric Giunta at egiunta@sunshinestatenews.com or at (954) 235-9116.
