Murkowski Cosponsors Fix for FAA Control Tower Furloughs
Senator Finds Solution through Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Lisa Murkowski today continued to work towards common-sense solutions to needless – and possibly politically motivated -- flight delays being imposed upon Alaskans and Americans because of the Federal Aviation Administration’s nationwide furloughs due to sequestration cuts, by cosponsoring the Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013 to allow the FAA to reallocate existing funds to avoid further furloughs of air traffic controllers. The bill passed the Senate this evening by unanimous consent.
Trying to find simple alternatives is nothing new for Murkowski, who cast a vote nearly two months ago to give the Obama administration more flexibility in administering cuts through a bipartisan proposal. That bill fell short of the needed votes when offered side-by-side with a tax hike option favored by many in the majority party.
“I’ve said it before: Alaska’s highways are our skies – and we don’t need a bottleneck like this, if we can avoid it with a simple fix,” said Murkowski. “I’m glad that my Senate colleagues were able to come together on a bipartisan basis to ensure the FAA runs smoothly and efficiently. With this bill, the FAA will be able to find the funds to keep our flights running on time without impacting their service or safety."
The Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013 would provide the Secretary of Transportation the authority to transfer funds to prevent essential employees at the FAA from being furloughed in order to reduce flight delays while maintaining a safe and efficient national airspace system.
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