Support Passage of the
FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act
Dear Senator:
On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and the hundreds of thousands of aviation workers represented by our affiliated unions, I urge you to support swift passage of the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act (S.1451), and reject any last minute efforts to derail this measure, when it is considered by the full Senate.
As you know, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not been reauthorized since October 2007 and the agency has been operating on a series of eight short-term funding extensions. During this time, needed investments in our airports and infrastructure have gone unaddressed along with key modernization initiatives, a host of critical safety reforms and worker rights issues. We are pleased the Senate has decided to bring FAA Reauthorization to the floor and encourage Senators to complete work on this vital piece of legislation so that a final bill can be reconciled and sent to the President for signature. We cannot allow the obstructionist tactics of a few to be used to further delay this important bill.
The aviation system is critical to our economy. As a vital component of our transportation network, it generates nearly $900 billion in economic activity annually and represents nine percent of our GDP. In addition, the FAA forecasts that by 2021 passenger traffic will increase 49 percent to 1.16 billion passengers annually. The FAA must be well-positioned to sustain this system and handle its anticipated growth.
S.1451 takes important steps in the right direction. The bill provides needed funding for airports and air traffic control modernization efforts, implements many safety reforms and fixes the broken collective bargaining system at the FAA.
As our nation struggles with historic unemployment rates, it’s imperative that Congress quickly pass a strong FAA bill that will sustain millions of aviation and related jobs and create hundreds of thousands more. Americans cannot afford additional delays in completing this legislation. While the FAA bill will not solve all of the aviation industry’s problems, it will set the stage for this critical segment of our economy to grow and for our workers to thrive.
FAA Reauthorization is long overdue. We urge you to support final passage of S.1451 and reject any efforts to stall this critically needed legislation. If you have any questions about this legislation, please contact me or Mia Clarkson (miac@ttd.org) at 202/628-9262.
Sincerely,
Edward Wytkind
President
