U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) lauded a provision of the Trump administration’s budget request that would shift air traffic control (ATC) functions from the Federal Aviation Administration to an independent, non-government organization.
Shuster, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the budget proposal for 2018 takes into consideration committee efforts to restructure the FAA and provisions of Shuster’s Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act.
“I commend President Trump for his leadership in calling for restructuring the role of the FAA,” Shuster said. “This budget takes the next step in what our committee produced last year — separating the air traffic control function from the federal government and establishing an independent, not-for-profit organization to provide this service.”
By removing the ATC function from the FAA, Shuster added, Americans would see a more efficient system, flight times decreased, more on-time departures, reduced emissions and 21st century technology developed to guide planes from gate to gate.
“On top of that, the FAA will be able to focus on safety and robust oversight of the new not-for-profit service provider,” Shuster said. “For too long, the federal government has been the impediment in updating our ATC operation to a world-class, state of the art system. We still rely on WWII-era technology to navigate the most used airspace in the world. This has stifled innovation and efficiency in our aviation system.”
Shuster applauded the president’s budget for rejecting adherence to the status quo. “As chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I will work with the president, and any interested parties, to see that this common sense reform reaches his desk this year.”