OMB Report: Sequestration Will Jeopardize Aviation Programs On Friday,
the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a 394-page report
which outlines the impact of automatic budget cuts (“sequestration”) required if
Congress can’t agree on a deficit reduction plan. This report confirms what ALPA
has been predicting over the summer, that should sequestration take effect on
January 1, 2013, federal programs critical to airline pilots and the aviation
system will be in jeopardy.
Read the full report.
Under a sequestration scenario, mandatory spending cuts will be implemented
to reduce the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion through FY 2021. According to the
sequestration report, $109 billion in cuts will be required each year (half from
cuts to defense programs and half in non-defense, such as aviation and homeland
security).
For our aviation system, we are looking at an 8.2 percent
cut in major programs at the FAA that support ATC services, airport improvement,
aircraft certification, and NextGen development and implementation. The report
bluntly states, “The Federal Aviation Administration’s ability to oversee and
manage the Nation’s airspace and air traffic control would be reduced.” Similar
cuts will be felt at the National Mediation Board, Customs and Border
Protection, NTSB, TSA (including a $73M hit to the FAMS program, which
administers the FFDO program), and the National Law Enforcement Training Center
among others.
The recently released report by the executive branch confirms that sequestration
will have a devastating impact on aviation. Sequestration was never intended to
be implemented, and today’s report clearly outlines why. The sequestration
trigger was enacted to force Congress to agree on a deficit-reduction plan. ALPA
continues to call on Congress to find a cooperative and bipartisan path toward
responsible federal budgeting that will not have critical consequences for our
aviation system. |