Forwarders depend on fully operating FAA, TSA

“FAA and TSA workers should not become the bargaining chips over congressional budget battles,” said Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association.    The recent federal government shutdown, which lasted from Dec. 22 to Jan. 25, took the U.S.’s vital air traffic control system to the breaking point.
   During most of that 35-day period, Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration employees diligently worked without pay, providing oversight to aircraft operations and safety. This activity included those agency personnel in charge of air cargo security and facilitation.
   The financial strain was demonstrated in the final days of the shutdown, however, through the start of significant air traffic delays at major U.S. East Coast airports due to lack of essential FAA air traffic control personnel at their jobs. There were also staffing shortcomings at TSA checkpoints at airports across the country.
   So the FAA and TSA are not without funds during future federal government shutdowns, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and House Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Rick Larsen, D-Wash., recently introduced the 2019 Aviation Funding Stability Act (H.R. 1108).
   Under the proposed legislation, a shutdown would authorize the FAA to draw from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, with no general fund contributions, to continue all operations, programs and activities at current funding levels for the agency. The fund, which is supported through taxes on airline tickets and fuel, currently contains about $6 billion.
   So far, the legislation has support from more than 40 co-sponsors in the House, and over 35 organizations from the aviation industry.
   The Washington, D.C.-based Airforwarders Associations backs the legislation. 
    “Freight forwarders depend on an efficient air traffic system capable of expediting shipments to our customers promptly and safely,” Brandon Fried, the association’s executive director, told American Shipper. “When the system slows due to inadequate staffing in the FAA control centers, the flights carrying important cargo vital to our nation’s commerce get delayed, causing challenges to business needing those essential goods and hospitals waiting for often life-saving medical supplies.”
   Fried said it’s important that the legislation ensures essential FAA employees are paid and aviation programs receive funding during future shutdowns. The association asked that Congress also consider related funding mechanisms for TSA workers.
    “FAA and TSA workers should not become the bargaining chips over congressional budget battles,” he said.