Congresswoman Maxine Waters Addresses Natl. Air Traffic Controllers Assoc. in L.A.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-35) spoke today to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association and accepted an award of appreciation from the organization. In her speech, the Congresswoman detailed her longtime advocacy on behalf of NATCA, specifically addressing her efforts to prevent office consolidation in Los Angeles, which would result in the loss of many jobs for local workers. The text of the Congresswoman's prepared remarks appears below:
"Thank you so much! I would like to thank Sam Samad, the Local President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), for all of those kind words. And I thank all of the NATCA members for honoring me with this award! I would also like to thank Bill Withycombe, the Western-Pacific Regional Administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), for joining us today. I appreciate your willingness to work with NATCA members and with my congressional office on issues affecting Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and the surrounding community.
Regional Office Consolidation
I am proud to have worked with NATCA to stop the forced relocation of NATCA employees at the FAA's nine regional offices.
The local employees of the FAA's Western-Pacific Regional Office in Hawthorne brought this issue to my attention back in 2005. They met with me in my Westchester office and informed me that the FAA was planning to consolidate the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) and force the ATO employees at six of the FAA's nine regional offices to relocate. They explained the hardships the proposed relocation would have imposed on experienced FAA employees, not just in Hawthorne, but in several other offices, such as those in Des Plaines, Illinois, and Burlington, Massachusetts. They also helped me understand the detrimental effects that regional office consolidation would have on the FAA's operations at LAX and other busy international airports.
• I quickly wrote a letter to then-FAA Administrator Marion Blakey expressing my concerns about the proposal to consolidate the Hawthorne office and explaining why it would be bad for LAX customers, bad for safety, and bad for FAA employees.
• On March 1, 2006, I met with then-Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to discuss the issue.
• On April 27, 2006, I sent a letter to Secretary Mineta expressing concerns about the effects of forced relocation on the employees of the Hawthorne office. This letter was signed by Senators Feinstein and Boxer and twelve Members of Congress from the Los Angeles area.
• I also testified before the Committee on Transportation's Subcommittee on Aviation during a hearing on "Air Traffic Control Modernization," on June 21, 2006.
• On July 20, 2006, I sent another letter to FAA Administrator Blakey, requesting that the planned consolidation of the regional offices be suspended. This letter was signed by 24 Members of Congress, including the Senators from the states of California, Massachusetts, and Illinois. One of the signers is now the President of the United States!
• On September 20, 2007, I offered an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Act to prohibit consolidation of the regional offices by the FAA without congressional oversight and consultation with employees. (The bill already prohibited consolidation of the FAA's field offices and air traffic control facilities without oversight and consultation.) The House of Representatives passed my amendment on a voice vote and then passed the entire FAA Reauthorization Act and sent it to the Senate. (Unfortunately, the Senate failed to act on the bill.)
By the fall of 2007, I became concerned that the FAA's various consolidation proposals were part of a larger pattern, which suggested that the FAA may have been planning to close the Hawthorne office completely. In 2005, the FAA relocated financial accounting services from the Hawthorne office to Oklahoma City. In 2006, the FAA relocated the Air Traffic Organization's administrative and technical support services from the Hawthorne office to the regional office in Seattle. And by 2007, the FAA was considering plans to consolidate the engineering services at the Hawthorne office and transfer experienced engineers from that office to the Seattle office.
• On October 18, 2007, I wrote to Mr. Robert A. Sturgell, the Acting FAA Administrator, expressing my concern about the proposed relocation of experienced FAA engineers and inquiring whether the FAA was planning to close the Hawthorne office.
• On January 24, 2008, I wrote to Acting Administrator Sturgell, urging that the FAA suspend plans to consolidate the engineering services at the regional offices and consult with Members of Congress regarding the future of the regional offices. This letter was signed by 35 Members of Congress, including then-Senator Barack Obama.
• On June 30, 2008, I wrote a follow-up letter to Acting Administrator Sturgell, urging that the FAA respect the will of Congress and not restructure the engineering services without congressional oversight and public input.
• Finally, on December 19, 2008, following the election of Senator Barack Obama as President of the United States, I wrote to Mr. Henry Krakowski, the Chief Operating Officer of the FAA's Air Traffic Organization, urging once again that the FAA suspend their engineering services consolidation plan, which had come to be known as the Engineering Services Efficiency Plan (ESEP). In this letter, I reminded Mr. Krakowski that the President-elect had signed one of our previous letters.
I was relieved when I finally learned that the FAA had changed its approach to ESEP. The FAA is continuing to consolidate the engineering services at the regional offices, but it is now doing so only by means of voluntary transfers. There will be no forced relocations.
Security Breach
I am proud to have worked with NATCA to stop the consolidation of the regional offices. And I am equally proud to have worked with NATCA on other issues.
On February 1st of last year, someone from outside of the FAA "hacked" into an FAA computer and accessed 48 computer files, including files that contained the names and Social Security numbers of more than 45,000 FAA employees. This security breach reportedly occurred at the Western-Pacific Regional Office. NATCA employees brought this issue to my attention and informed me of their concern that some FAA employees would be penalized for allegedly causing the incident without a full investigation to determine who was actually responsible.
On June 17, 2009, I wrote to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, expressing my concerns about this security breach. I requested a full review of all actions taken in response to the breach including efforts to determine what caused it. I also asked to be informed regarding whether any management or non-management FAA employees had been penalized and, if so, how it was determined that the individuals in question were responsible.
Unfortunately, Mr. Samad has informed my staff that the FAA still has not explained what caused the security breach. Furthermore, while a few employees were penalized for the breach, no one in the FAA's management was ever held responsible.
Conclusion
Air traffic controllers play a critical role in protecting the flying public. So do the engineers and technical support staff at the regional offices. I am proud to accept this award from the dedicated employees of NATCA, and I am proud to support your work."
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