Medicare spending will be reduced by 2% per year versus
the planned levels. The Congressional Budget Office
estimates that the sequester would reduce 2013 economic
growth by about 0.6 percentage points (from 2.0% to
1.4%) and affect the creation or retention of about
750,000 jobs by year-end.
Over the 2014–2023 period, the sequester
would reduce planned spending outlays by $995 billion
with interest savings of $228 billion or a total of over
$1.2 trillion in debt reduction. The blunt nature of the
cuts has been criticized with some favoring more
tailored cuts and others arguing for postponement while
the economy improves.
With the recent announcement from the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) regarding the furlough of employees
resulting from the sequestration battle, there has been
much speculation over the effects this decision would
have on the National Airspace System and the individuals
who serve or are served by it. The Coalition
of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA), a trade
association representing over 22,000 professional
airline pilots, has been actively meeting with air
traffic controllers and other officials across the
country to provide their membership with a greater
understanding of this issue.
A
travel experience consisting of extensive delays and
cancellations will have far-reaching effects on an
industry that today is still trying to recover from an
era of bankruptcies, job losses, and reduced services
for our passengers. Sadly, legislative gamesmanship and
the choices foisted upon governmental agencies will
result in understaffed facilities and delays, causing
disruption and needless difficulties for the traveling
public.
CAPA, along with other trade and labor associations,
joins the nation’s airlines in calling for a quick
solution to this untenable forecast of increased delays.
Furthermore, CAPA believes that a collaborative
approach, which provides Congress with stakeholder
input, is crucial in maintaining the standard that the
traveling public expects, the travel industry deserves,
and our members demand.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA)
stated “after just two days of furloughs for air traffic
controllers, more than 10,000 flights have been delayed
and more than 600 canceled. This is just the beginning
of what promises to be a huge economic disruption if the
furloughs are not stopped. As bad as delays have been,
they could be even worse if the FAA were not taking
extraordinary steps to cover for the controllers forced
off the job.
“The FAA has been forced to cancel all training, halt work
on critical modernization and NextGen projects, and are
even using overtime at some of the busiest facilities.
This last decision is particularly concerning because
the use of overtime pay is actually costing the FAA
money, eliminating any savings that are supposedly being
achieved for sequestration. It’s simple math -
furloughing controllers earning base while paying others
base pay plus an additional 50 percent will not result
in savings.
“This is no way to run the world’s safest, most efficient
national airspace system. Controllers continue to do
their best every day to keep the system running. It’s
time policymakers show the same amount of effort and
dedication. A bipartisan solution to stop these
furloughs must be reached and soon, in order to keep
controllers on the job full time and America’s national
airspace operating at full capacity”.
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