Trump White House Transportation Budget Earns CEI Praise on Air Traffic Control Reform

The White House this morning released its 2018 budget blueprint, which features a 12.7 percent decrease in Department of Transportation spending and reforms to the nation’s antiquated air traffic control system. CEI transportation policy expert Marc Scribner praised the air traffic control reforms.

“The administration should be applauded for its willingness to help reform the nation’s air traffic control system,” said CEI Senior Fellow Marc Scribner. “Urgent reforms are needed to improve airspace operations and lower costs for travelers. Getting the federal government out of the air traffic control business is the only viable path to modernization. The reform proposal from House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster has earned support from former senior officials in the Reagan, Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations, as well as from much of the aviation sector and independent analysts. It is long overdue to move U.S. air traffic control into the 21st century, something unlikely to occur as long as air traffic control upgrades are stymied by chronic congressional and bureaucratic mismanagement.”

In a post to the CEI.org blog, Scribner also notes that the budget blueprint also includes a reduction in Amtrak subsidies, transit grants, and the elimination of the Essential Air Service. See: White House Budget Embraces Air Traffic Control Reform