Story ID: 
NATCA Urges Congress To Avoid Government Shutdown
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Controller hiring would halt
Word Count: 368
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) is urging Congress to avert another government shutdown, warning that such a move could set back both air traffic controller hiring and National Airspace System (NAS) modernization. NATCA pointed to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) efforts to “supercharge” controller hiring and move forward on modernization, and stressed that a shutdown could significantly delay both initiatives.
“We currently have approximately 10,800 certified professional controllers moving traffic throughout the NAS—which is 3,800 short of where we need to be. NATCA is deeply concerned that a government shutdown of any length could cause significant setbacks and harm our combined efforts alongside Secretary [Sean] Duffy and [FAA] Administrator [Bryan] Bedford to bolster the controller hiring and training pipeline,” said NATCA president Nick Daniels. “In a time when aviation safety is under heightened public concern, a government shutdown would significantly add to the distractions our members must manage on the job every day.”
Congress is facing a deadline to pass a funding bill before the fiscal year begins on October 1 or the government shuts down. However, both parties are at loggerheads over medical funding provisions, among others, raising the prospect of an impasse over even a short-term funding extension. President Donald Trump was set to meet with Democratic leaders today to discuss that impasse.
In the interim, government workers are bracing for the potential ramifications of a shutdown. Under a plan the DOT put together earlier this year, a shutdown would result in the furlough of nearly 17,000 of the agency’s 46,000 employees and result in several operations to temporarily cease, including: controller hiring and training, aviation rulemaking, random drug testing, facility security inspections, security background investigations, operations planning, NextGen technologies development and testing, FAA capital planning and implementation of facilities and equipment programs, and dispute resolution among other programs.
Activities that would continue, according to the plan, include ATC services, but without pay; maintenance of navigational aids and facilities; flight standards inspections; airworthiness directives; airmen medical certifications; certain certification activities; UAS waivers and exemptions; hazardous materials safety inspections; limited air traffic safety oversight; on-call accident investigations; and the aircraft and airmen registry, among others.