Privatizing towers stalls FAA bill

By Leslie Miller, Associated Press, 9/25/2003

WASHINGTON -- The revival of a 1981 dispute that air traffic controllers had with the Reagan administration is now stalling passage of a four-year, $60 billion aviation spending bill.

At issue now is the ability of the Federal Aviation Administration to let private operators take over at government-run air traffic control towers.

The Bush administration had threatened to veto the aviation bill if the measure does not give the FAA the power to convert 69 towers, mostly at smaller airports.

The FAA says current law gives it that authority, a conclusion the air controllers oppose. Their union sued the government in the mid-1990s, claiming the conversion of government-run control towers is illegal. The case is in federal court in Ohio.

The White House faced strong congressional opposition to the bill because it included the list of 69 towers. The Bush administration offered to delete that section in the bill -- but still asserted it had the option to privatize the towers, according to a Transportation Department official.

The Bush administration also agreed to take out language that shields controllers from privatization for four years, the official said. Funding for the air traffic control system and other aviation projects is set to expire Tuesday. The dispute is the most heated since 1981, when President Reagan fired more than 11,000 controllers on grounds they violated a national security provision in their contract by striking.