Rep. Shuster applauds air traffic control reform in federal budget proposal

Bill Shuster

Following the recent release of President Donald Trump’s budget proposal outline, U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA), chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, commended the inclusion of an air traffic control (ATC) reform that allows an ATC function shift from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to an independent, non-governmental organization.

“This budget takes the next step in what our committee produced last year – separating the air traffic control function from the federal government and establishing an independent, not-for-profit organization to provide this service,” Shuster said.

Removing the ATC function from the FAA, Shuster said, will create a more efficient transportation system, decrease flight times, increase on-time departures, reduce emissions, and include the use of updated technology in flight operations.

“For too long, the federal government has been the impediment in updating our ATC operation to a world-class, state of the art system,” Shuster said. “We still rely on WWII-era technology to navigate the most used airspace in the world. This has stifled innovation and efficiency in our aviation system.”

Shuster specifically applauded the president’s willingness to break the status quo and allow for the restructuring of the role of the FAA as well as redeveloping ATC function.