NATCA’s Rinaldi Will Urge Congress to Prevent Future FAA Shutdowns
Aviation Safety Leader Will Detail How Shutdown Resulted in Reduced Aviation Safety at Feb. 13 House Aviation Subcommittee Hearing
WASHINGTON – National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) President Paul Rinaldi will testify on Feb. 13 before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Aviation, at a hearing entitled “Putting U.S. Aviation Safety at Risk: The Impact of the Shutdown.”
With the National Airspace System still reeling from the negative effects of the recent 35-day government shutdown, Rinaldi will deliver an impassioned message about how the shutdown eroded the layers of critical elements necessary to support and maintain the safety of the NAS. Rinaldi will also detail how the workforce was negatively affected by stress, fatigue, and distraction caused by the shutdown and the uncertainty about when it would end. He will brief the Committee on the costs to taxpayers, including the shutdown-related delays to critical safety programs. He will explain why we cannot allow another shutdown to happen on Feb. 16, or ever again.
WHAT: U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Aviation, hearing entitled “Putting U.S. Aviation Safety at Risk: The Impact of the Shutdown.”
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 13, at 10 a.m. EST.
WHERE: HVC 210, Capitol Visitor Center. Click here to learn more about the hearing, including how to watch it streamed live.
WHO: NATCA President Paul Rinaldi. NATCA will make Rinaldi’s full written testimony available at the start of the hearing, both on its website natca.org and via email to its media list. Rinaldi will be available for media following the hearing outside the hearing room.
To be added to the list, please email [email protected].
MORE INFORMATION: Doug Church, Deputy Director of Public Affairs; 301-346-8245, [email protected].
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The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) is a labor union and aviation safety organization in the United States that represents nearly 20,000 highly skilled air traffic controllers, engineers, and other aviation safety-related professionals. NATCA was certified in 1987 by the Federal Labor Relations Authority to be the exclusive bargaining representative for air traffic controllers employed by the Federal Aviation Administration. Today, NATCA is one of the strongest labor unions in the federal sector and represents a range of aviation safety professionals in 15 FAA bargaining units, 4 Department of Defense air traffic facilities, and 102 federal contract towers. These air traffic controllers and other aviation safety professionals make vital contributions to the U.S. economy and make modern life possible by coordinating the safe, orderly, and expeditious movement of nearly one billion aviation passengers and millions of tons of freight within the National Airspace System each year. NATCA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
