White House & Republican leadership jeopardize flight attendants in FAA Reauthorization

FAA Reauthorization update  11/22/2003

 (for background on the FAA Reauthorization click here )

On October 30^th, the House of Representatives passed a dangerous version of the FAA Reauthorization bill.  After hours of debate and the united opposition of House Democrats, the House passed this badly flawed bill on a narrow vote of 211-207.  Unfortunately, the bill still would give the White House the ability to privatize the entire air traffic control system.  Privatization of the air traffic control system is a dangerous precedent that puts the entire U.S. aviation system at risk and has failed miserably in those countries that have tried it in the past decade.  But most important to AFA, our members, and all flight attendants in the U.S., the bill still contains dangerous language that guts the requirement for flight attendant security training. 

The final language in the legislation contains the provision supported by Continental Airlines and ordered to be inserted by House Republican Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX).  The original language that required TSA to issue guidelines for flight attendant security training was changed so that it is now up to the discretion of the TSA and White House as to whether or not it is necessary to issue security-training guidelines.  You can be assured that the airlines are going to exert tremendous pressure on their friends in the White House to make sure those guidelines are never issued.  With passage of this language into law, we will be forced back to the pre-September 11^th world, where each carrier provides inadequate security training without any guidelines that allow for all flight attendants to be adequately prepared. 

This legislation also includes dangerous provisions that would allow for the introduction of cabotage.  Cabotage allows for a foreign carrier to serve and fly domestic routes.  Currently, no foreign carrier is allowed to serve point-to-point domestic routes.  The FAA Reauthorization as passed by the House, includes a provision that would allow a foreign cargo carrier to fly domestic routes as long as that aircraft first lands at Ted Stevens International Airport in Alaska, who ironically enough is the Senator who inserted the cabotage provision.  This is a dangerous precedent that will ultimately lead to foreign owned carriers flying domestic passengers routes and cutting into American owned carriers’ business on important and profitable routes and will only result in the loss of jobs at U.S. carriers.  Of equal concern is the fact that there are no requirements that the cargo be searched by U.S. agencies therefore opening a direct pipeline for terrorists to smuggle whatever and whoever they want into our country.

 The FAA Reauthorization is now pending in the U.S. Senate.  Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and the Democratic leadership of the Senate have vowed to filibuster the bill.  In order to proceed to debate and passage of the bill, 60 Senators must agree.  It appears at this time as though Senator Lautenberg and the Senate Democratic leadership will have the votes to prevent passage of this irresponsible bill.  However, the airports and airlines are conducting an all out lobby blitz to convince Senators that the bill must be passed quickly and it appears as though the Republican Leadership of the Senate is inclined to include the bill into an omnibus spending bill.  This tactic is used primarily when the leadership, in this case Republicans, have drastically failed to achieve consensus among a majority of Senators because they have included highly political items in the legislation.  Congress will need to pass a massive omnibus spending bill to cover those appropriations and spending bills that they have not been able to complete before their self-imposed deadline of November 21^st. 

Unfortunately, caught up in all this political wrangling over the FAA Reauthorization is our strongly supported provision that will certify flight attendants as safety professionals.