U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) soon plans to introduce legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would to prohibit major staffing cuts at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) if a fatal crash has occurred within the last year in U.S. airspace.
The bill is in response to the Trump Administration firing nearly 400 FAA employees despite 14 major plane crashes so far this year.
“While the number of flights has surged, the number of aviation workers protecting us hasn’t kept pace,” Gottheimer said during a visit to Newark Liberty International Airport on Friday. “Despite all of this, the Trump Administration announced they were gutting the FAA and firing hundreds of these critical FAA workers at our airports across the country. Firing FAA workers is just plain stupid and puts Jersey families and passengers at risk.
“If we want to reassure families that we are doing everything to protect the lives of their loved ones, we can’t also tell them there will be fewer workers looking out for their safety when they fly.”
The bill also would require the FAA over the next five years to deploy critical safety technology at airports to help prevent “close calls” on and around runways.