NATCA Bookshelf

N A T I O N A L A I R T R A F F I C C O N T R O L L E R S A S S O C I A T I O N | W W W . N AT C A . O R G N i W To d a y 45 45 45 45 REFERENCES Q & A Debt Ceiling Crisis What was the Debt Ceiling and how could a default have negatively affected the FAA and NATCA members? n The gap between federal revenues and existing financial commitments is financed by issuing federal debt. The U.S. Treasury does this by selling various kinds of debt securities (such as bonds) to investors. Congress created the debt limit by statute, which places a constraint on the amount of money that the U.S. Treasury may borrow to fund federal obligations. n The United States has never defaulted on its debt. In the event of a future default, the effect on NATCA members would depend on how Congress deals with the resulting appropriations restrictions. After the 2011 debt ceiling debate, Congress enacted legislation that resulted in sequestration and tremendously disruptive save-money furloughs. n On June 3, 2023, Congress passed, and the president signed a bill that suspended the debt limit. It is expected that the debt ceiling will need to be raised again during the first half of this year. n NATCA will continue to educate Congress about how damaging and disruptive a debt ceiling crisis can be to the NAS, and we will continue to advocate for what is best for all of our members and the NAS. Sequestration How did sequestration affect the FAA? n Sequestration was the result of a congressional money-saving approach that resulted in automatic cuts to government spending that were mandated by law. They were across the board cuts to all budget lines and did not prioritize safety critical projects and programs. It cut nearly $493 million from the FAA's Ops budget without regard for the safety or efficiency of the NAS. n When it went into effect in 2013, sequestration resulted in save-money furloughs for the workforce and created the potential for closures or reductions in service hours at many facilities. n Sequestration forced the FAA to institute a hiring freeze and close the FAA Academy for most of 2013, meaning it was unable to hire new air traffic controller trainees. This hiring freeze worsened an already critical air traffic controller staffing situation, which reached a 30-year low for CPCs. n Sequestration also caused preventative maintenance delays, meaning that engineers and technicians had to contend with a "fix-on-fail" policy that forces them to wait until equipment breaks before replacing it. This policy resulted in down time for systems and negatively affects the efficiency of the system. How did furloughs resulting from sequestration affect the FAA? n Sequestration forced the FAA to furlough employees (including air traffic controllers) for one week in April 2013. Congress quickly intervened by passing a NATCA-initiated bill, the Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013. n During the week of April 21-27, 2013, delays nearly tripled at our nation's airports, from 5,103 to 13,694. n NATCA led the wide-ranging legislative campaign for enactment of The Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013, which authorized the Secretary of Transportation to transfer $253 million from other FAA accounts to the FAA's operations account in order to end the FAA furloughs and allow aviation safety professionals to return to work full time. This legislative campaign was recognized as one of the top lobbying victories of the 113th Congress.

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