Posted on 04/25/2013 6:05:10 PM PDT by SkyPilot
Edited on 04/25/2013 6:18:55 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate late on Thursday approved legislation to provide enough funding for federal air traffic controllers through Sept. 30 to end furloughs that have brought widespread airline delays. Several Senate aides said an agreement had been reached on a bill giving the Department of Transportation new flexibility to use unspent funds to cover the costs of air traffic controllers and other essential employees at the Federal Aviation Administration.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
By the way, the states should handle traffic control, too, unless the constitution has been amended!
no no furloughs because even if we didnt kilt them before they multiplied it isnt too late for that cause we can cause it to happen if we make it our soul cause...life, liberty, and pursit with a steamroller..
Accidentally left off an important word: PERMANENTLY furlough them. And for God’s sake, shutter the damned incompetent jackbooted fascist DHS before anymore innocent citizens are blown up!!
Well I’ll give you a pass then for merely omitting that one word. Because, IMO, chopping snakes off the Medusa federal government blowcrockracy isn’t only good for the country, it gives ME a warm fuzzy feeling.
More proof that the "sequester" is zero's way of punishing taxpayers with the most irritating and annoying "cuts".
But, as soon as the cuts affect the political elites, money is available.
The EPA are funding money to reduce their furloughs to something like 9 or 10 days. You're right, if we got rid of them completely the economy would probably take off like crazy.
Eric "Gunrunner" Holder was given Billions in "re-programmed" funds yesterday, so that no one at Holder's "Just Us" Dept is furloughed a single day - and that was after Holder and Rep Wolf got into a shouting match on camera. Perhaps the other agency heads that come to testify should act like spoiled brats and they will be showered with Billions in re-programmed funds as well.
The HUD/Food Stamp crowd are doing great - I don't think they will have any furloughs at all.
The military, ahhh, that's a different story.
In sequestration, president and Congress undermining military
This bill was totally unecessary. THERE IS ENOUGH FUNDING FOR AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS. All it takes is PRIORITIZING.
Here’s what the Wall Street Journal observes:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323735604578440981119902460.html
Ponder this logic, if that’s the right word: The sequester cuts about $637 million from the FAA, which is less than 4% of its $15.9 billion 2012 budget, and it limits the agency to what it spent in 2010. The White House decided to translate this 4% cut that it has the legal discretion to avoid into a 10% cut for air traffic controllers. Though controllers will be furloughed for one of every 10 working days, four of every 10 flights won’t arrive on time.
The White House claims the sequester applies to the budget category known as “projects, programs and activities” and thus it lacks flexibility. Not so: This is a political pose to make the sequester more disruptive. Legally speaking, the sequester applies at a more general level known as “accounts.” The air traffic account includes 15,000 controllers out of 31,000 employees. The White House could keep the controllers on duty simply by allocating more furlough days to these other non-essential workers.
Instead, the FAA is even imposing the controller furlough on every airport equally, not prioritizing among the largest and busiest airports. San Francisco’s Napa Valley airport with no commercial service will absorb the same proportion of the cuts as the central New York radar terminal, which covers La Guardia, JFK and Newark International, as well as MacArthur, Teterboro, New Haven, Republic and other regional fields.
Grounded
Grounded
Grounded
Grounded
Grounded
Grounded
Grounded
Grounded
Grounded
Grounded
Grounded
Grounded
Shut down
Grounded
Grounded
Grounded
Grounded
The affected aircraft and units, by airframe:
F-22
94th Fighter Squadron — Grounded April 9
27th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through September
3rd Fighter Wing — Two squadrons combat mission ready through September
15th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
49th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
F-15 C/D
67th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through September
44th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through July, then Combat mission ready through September
48th Fighter Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
F-15E
366th Fighter Squadron — Grounded April 9
335th Fighter Squadron — Combat mission ready through September
48th Fighter Wing — Two squadrons stand down April 9
391st Fighter Squadron — Stands down April 9
F-16 C/D
8th Fighter Wing — Two squadrons combat mission ready through September
77th Fighter Squadron — Stands down April 9
55th Fighter Squadron — Combat mission ready through September
79th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through July, then combat mission ready through September
555th Fighter Squadron — Stands down April 9
510th Fighter Squadron — Combat mission ready through September
13th Fighter Squadron — Combat mission ready through September
14th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through September
51st Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
57th Wing — One squadron (Thunderbirds) stands down April 9
158th Fighter Wing — One squadron stands down April 9
169th Fighter Wing — One squadron stands down April 9
187th Fighter Wing — One squadron stands down April 9
354th Fighter Wing — One squadron stands down April 9
4th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable until redeployment
421st Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through September
A-10C
75th Fighter Squadron — Basic mission capable through July, then combat mission ready through September
51st Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
52nd Fighter Wing — Closing
442nd Fighter Wing — One squadron stands down April 9
917th Wing — One squadron stands down April 9
HH-60G
18th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
48th Fighter Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
B-1B
7th Bomb Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
28th Bomb Wing — Two squadrons stand down April 9
B-2
509th Bomb Wing — Two squadrons combat mission ready through September
B-52
2nd Bomb Wing — One squadron stand down April 9
5th Bomb Wing — Two combat squadrons combat mission ready through September
E-3B/C/G
3rd Bomb Wing — Basic mission capable through September
18th Wing — One squadron basic mission capable through September
552nd Air Control Wing — One squadron basic mission capable through September
SE-4B
55th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
EC-130H
55 Electronic Combat Group — One squadron combat mission ready through September
OC-135B
55th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
RC-135S
55th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
RC-135U
55th Wing — One squadron combat mission ready through September
RC-135V/W
55th Wing — One squadron basic mission capable through September
TC-135W
55th Wing (training) — One squadron basic mission capable through September
WC-135C/W
55th Wing. — One squadron combat mission ready through September
A certain relative who shall remain nameless works for a federal agency which shall remain nameless and started her forced furloughs this Monday - up until this week workers were told that the law required them to take one day off every two weeks between now and October - but as of yesterday they were informed and in fact encouraged to schedule their time off in blocka of at least five days in a row - why? - because they can qualify and apply for unemployment compensation while taking the time the government makes them take off - there’s no end to the way this administration screws the public.....
He hasn’t won on the air delays. People now think he’s crazy. There’s no one as PO’d as an air traveler who knows the delay was not necessary.
Being furloughed and collecting unemployment varies by state to state, I believe.
There is no "option" like that for DoD employees - the I read that it is going to be a day per week for the rest of the fiscal year, being 30 Sep. When the furlough days for the military civilians actually occur has not been announced.
But still, what is wrong with this picture?
40% of DoD civilians are military veterans.
As a nation, we are saying:
We don't have enough money to pay your salary.
We have all the money in the world to increase this program so that 1 in 5 households now collect it unimpeded.
I heard it was 17 combat wings that were grounded.
Our nation is in rapid, rapid decline.
Right now, the budget picture for the FAA is looking much better, if this infusion of ca$h is given so the controllers can avoid furloughs.
For the DoD, it is looking grim indeed. The Army is the worst off, and because they are so short of Operations and Maintenance money (I heard they were down 80%), they are taking Air Force, Marine, and Navy approved dollars from them. I don't fault the Army, I fault Obama and Congress, but this is robbing Peter to pay Paul. It is also grossly unfair.
Robert Hale, the Pentagon Comptroller, wants the entire DoD structure to linger under some Communist egalitarian sense of "shared suffering." The problem with that approach is that the agencies and units that have been the best stewards of funds, and are run the most efficiently, have to now pay for the inefficient ones.
The Navy and the Air Force have conserved enough O&M funds by shutting down other activities to avoid the furloughs, but Hagel and Hale won't let them do it.
Why are not the Senators, Representatives, President and Air Force One Grounded? The parents (taxpayers) need to tell DC to go home and stay there and the taxpayers will take over running the country. Since the politicians cannot even have a budget
A report back in February said Congressional travel would be being affected by the Sequester, but we have learned that in reality there have been no cut backs to their travel.
Congressional Trips Abroad Continue Despite Sequester
I found this photo of Rep Bishop (R-UT) hamming it up in Germany particularly enraging.
This same obese Congressman basically accused the Joint Chiefs in February of lying to the House Armed Services Committee regarding the negative affects of taking Billions from the Defense budget. He verbally attacked those men - better men than him who possess medals earned in combat.
The truth is that when Sequestration took Billions, it affects Defense! Now, every Congressman (including Bishop) is a NIMBY - he has pivoted his efforts to protect Hill AFB - and everyone else be damned.
Obama's travels are completely exempt from Sequestration because the Air Force has decreed it, no doubt ordered to do so from the SECDEF and the White House.
Biden is taking the train back to Delaware more often these days instead of AF-2, but he actaully enjoys the choo choo train more than flying.
Interesting... (I was expecting you to close that post out with a photo of Air Force 1 captioned “not grounded”).
If only it were possible to advance a bill to dissolve Congress!
Thanks SkyPilot.
I thought about it.
Perhaps I will take the HTML and add AF1 and use it again for future articles.
Thanks.
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