ATC FURLOUGH FIX

ASTA praised Congress for its quick action on bipartisan legislation to halt the furloughs of air traffic controllers brought about by across-the-board budget cuts known as “sequestration.”The Association is also thanking its members for their grassroots efforts, which included nearly 1,700 e-mails to Congress in less than 24 hours demanding action on the furloughs. Last week, the Senate unanimously passed the Reducing Flight Delays Act, which would give the Secretary of Transportation the flexibility to transfer funds into the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) operations budget to prevent essential employees, such as air traffic controllers, from being furloughed. This would help reduce flight delays while maintaining a safe and efficient national airspace system. As well, the House passed a virtually identical measure by a vote of 361 to 41. And this week, the Senate will pass H.R. 1765 and send it to President Obama, who has indicated that he will sign the measure. “ASTA is grateful that Members of Congress were able to put aside their differences to make sure that the travel industry, so critical to our nation’s economic health, is not unduly harmed,”said ASTA president Zane Kerby. “Thanks to the efforts of Senators Collins and Udall, as well as others who put forward proposals like Senators Hoeven, Klobuchar and Blunt, Americans can get where they are going while Congress and the White House negotiate a long-term solution to our budget crisis.”