NBC: Republican Efforts to Reduce Deficit Are Endangering Public Safety
In an interview with Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood on Friday's NBC Today, co-host Meredith Vieira exploited recent instances of air traffic controllers falling asleep on the job to bash Republican efforts to curb government spending: "...the House signed a bill – passed a bill, I'm sorry – that would cut $4 billion from your budget. Are you worried about that?"
In response Lahood proclaimed: "Of course we're worried about it. And I think these incidents prove up the case that we can't let money stand in the way of safety....Money will never compromise safety. That will always be our priority for the flying public." Vieira followed up: "But just so I understand, are you saying that that $4 billion cut would negatively impact aviation safety?"
What Vieira failed to explain was that the GOP proposal simply brought the FAA budget back to 2008 levels, still providing the government agency with $59.7 billion.
Here is a transcript of the April 15 exchange between Vieira and Lahood:
7:09AM ET
(...)
MEREDITH VIEIRA: You know, Congressman Mica, the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says that it is wrong of the FAA to add air controllers at this time. He argues, 'This increase in staffing, when there is little to no traffic, also misdirects our resources and focus away from congested air traffic control facilities.' What is your response to that?
RAY LAHOOD: Look it, we're not going to let money compromise safety. If safety is our number one priority and it takes additional controllers to get to the kind of zero tolerance that we want, that's what we will do. We will always find the money to make sure that safety is the number one priority for the flying public.
VIEIRA: And yet the House signed a bill – passed a bill, I'm sorry – that would cut $4 billion from your budget. Are you worried about that?
LAHOOD: Of course we're worried about it. And I think these incidents prove up the case that we can't let money stand in the way of safety. And we will work with Congress on making sure we have the resources to have the right number of controllers, well-trained, well-rested, and alert, in these control towers. Money will never compromise safety. That will always be our priority for the flying public.
VIEIRA: But just so I understand, are you saying that that $4 billion cut would negatively impact aviation safety?
LAHOOD: We're going to work with Congress to make sure we have the right resources to have controllers that are well-trained and alert in these towers. That's our obligation to the flying public for safety.
VIEIRA: Alright, Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood, thank you very much.
LAHOOD: Thank you, Meredith.
— Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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Comments
Always the same solution
Submitted by DontFeedTheTrolls on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:25am.
Me: What is your solution to the problem of (pick one).
Liberal/Progressive/Democrat: The solution is to spend more taxpayer money on the problem.
Don't let the door hit you on you're expansive backside Merry
Submitted by Tomorama on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:33am.
Instead of firing the losers that are caught RISKING LIVES by sleeping on the job, hey everybody, let's hire 5 people to man the stations and spend more money instead.
The 5th guy can watch the 4th guy and the 3rd guy can........
Of course when they are NOT on the union mandated 15 minute hourly break................
Yep, these union hack workers......... fall asleep on the JOB and it is now Bush's fault.
Didn't this leftist &&&&&&&*(&*^*^* announce she was leaving soon?
Damn, it can't happen fast enough.
I would do it differently.
Submitted by motherbelt on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:49am.
I would do it differently. Hire enough people so that everyone only needs to work for an hour!! Surely everyone can stay awake that long!
Meredith is right: there just isn't anywhere we can cut it without planes crashing, seniors dying in the streets, and our kids "eating off the ground" like Eddie Bernice Johnson said (apparently there won't even be dog and cat food!)
Don't forget.
Submitted by Beukeboom on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:43am.
...and tax the taxpayers more so we can get more money to spend.
Watch OUT for those tax code
Submitted by MaximusBraveheart on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 12:06pm.
Watch OUT for those tax code expenditures! Who needs money to live off of?
I wonder how everyone, particularly the poor, will fair when the dollar is no longer the reserve currency and the dollar collapses. The ONLY reason it has not collapsed yet is due to the demand for the dollar as the reserve currency. They could not be printing off all this money for so long & get away with it otherwise.
This AM I heard that we are Federally subsidizing organized labor union expenses. That Obama's "transparent" regime has not released the number for 2 years since in office. The theft & fraud continues! Yank the cord & unplug this corrupt organism!
-- Maximusbraveheart -- Is TRUTH knowable? Moral Relativism is the abandonment of Truth. Truth is knowable. Truth conforms to Reality. Reality is observable by evidence & witness in this day & from history. Relativism is Sesame Street play land.
Once again the mathematically challenged need help
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:31am.
Check out this link and perhaps you can grasp the true scope of the problem.
Eat the Rich
Recommend! Thanks! Great
Submitted by MaximusBraveheart on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 12:27pm.
Recommend! Thanks! Great video.
Edit: Just finished watching! The public needs to watch. Why can't the media stop torpedoing our Country & help out a little?
-- Maximusbraveheart -- Is TRUTH knowable? Moral Relativism is the abandonment of Truth. Truth is knowable. Truth conforms to Reality. Reality is observable by evidence & witness in this day & from history. Relativism is Sesame Street play land.
Wow, that is so excellent
Submitted by dscott on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 12:47pm.
Wow, that is so excellent that the liberals and their rubes will NEVER understand because they refuse to do so.
AHH yes all that Public Safety
Submitted by upcountrywater on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:32am.
OSHA Horse back riding
You Didn't Build That.
That was good! LOL.
Submitted by MaximusBraveheart on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 12:07pm.
That was good! LOL.
-- Maximusbraveheart -- Is TRUTH knowable? Moral Relativism is the abandonment of Truth. Truth is knowable. Truth conforms to Reality. Reality is observable by evidence & witness in this day & from history. Relativism is Sesame Street play land.
I always figured that the reason those air traffic controllers
Submitted by no tingly legs on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:36am.
have been sleeping on the job was because of Republicans wanting to cut the budget. Great logic Meredith. Thanks for your brilliant insight into this matter.
All leg tingly still?
Submitted by Tomorama on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:37am.
Speaking of the deficit, anyone catch this gem from the worst President of my lifetime:
While doing an "interview" with Snuffy
George Stephanopoulos: You’ve got to extend the debt limit by May. And it seems like you made up the job-- your job is a lot tougher because of your vote in the Senate against extending the debt limit…When did you realize that vote was a mistake?
President Obama: I think that it’s important to understand the vantage point of a Senator versus the vantage point of a…President. When you’re a Senator, traditionally what’s happened is this is always a lousy vote. Nobody likes to be tagged as having increased the debt limit for the United States by a trillion dollars… As President, you start realizing, "You know what? We-- we can’t play around with this stuff. This is the full faith in credit of the United States." And so that was just a example of a new Senator, you know, making what is a political vote as opposed to doing what was important for the country. And I’m the first one to acknowledge it.
WTF, WTF and I mean WTF?
Oh, puh-leeze!
Submitted by motherbelt on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:52am.
Obama made a "political" vote as a senator, but he would never, never, do that as a president.
<Chris Matthews imitation> HA!!
Love being a conservative
Submitted by jpk3 on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:38am.
We’re killing old people, throwing them out of nursing homes, starving children, harassing the handicap and now we’re going to make air travel less safe and all this in just 4 months, damn we’re good. Now seriously, who didn’t see this coming from the socialist/marxist, same old song and dance. Every time we try to make the federal government operate as the constitution demands, even just a little, these a$$holes start their crap.
Deja vu all over again
Submitted by KC Mulville on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:38am.
RAY LAHOOD: Look it, we're not going to let money compromise safety.
Didn't George Bush say the same thing, when he defended his refusal to raise taxes to pay for the war? (At the time, it was only the war in Afghanistan.) He said that even though we were at war, he wasn't going to raise taxes because we were then in the post-Clinton recession. It's unfortunate that both the recession and the war happened at the same time, but we can't stop fighting to defend ourselves just because we can't raise taxes.
I'm not saying that Bush was wrong. In fact, LaHood is probably also right. But since they're using the same logic, they're either both right or both wrong.
The other thing that makes me laugh is that we're only going back to the same spending levels as three years ago. See the bureaucratic mind at work! Funny how a federal bureaucracy can't get along with the same level of funding, providing the same amount of services ... because they've since gotten used to all that extra cash at the federal trough.
Cut 2% from a liberal's budget
Submitted by c5then on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:41am.
And they will claim that the end of the world has arrived. They always go right to the absolute last thing that a reasonable person would even think about cutting. With all the stuff and programs that the Department of Transportation does, they go right to the NTSB and "safety".
The real answer would be: "No of course not Meridith, because the safety programs will be the absolute last thing to be cut" We may have to pair back some of our funding for local highway projects or bridge repairs, but safety will be maintained."
The liberals always want to say that with any cut the most vital and absolutely important program will be the first to be cut when EVERYBODY knows that is not the case.
Besides, I think that recent history has shown that the pilots are better at directing themselves than some of the control towers are. With the possible exception of Air France.
Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it!
double post
Submitted by c5then on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:43am.
Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it!
Aviation Safety
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:44am.
Here's an Idea that should please everyone.
These night shift Air Traffic Controllers land maybe, three planes a night. They make $160,000/year.
Rather than put them in the position of being responsible for multiple deaths, let's cut their pay in half to $80,000 and double up the night shift.
But I'm sure nobody would want to work for $80k for such a heavy workload, right?
Union foolishness.
Question is
Submitted by dirtydan64 on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:53am.
why was this Bafoon fired long ago when were heard all the stories months ago about controllers sleeping on the job, why did it take 5 more incidents and a Airbus A380 to side swipe a small private plane, or a medivac jet to not have controllers at the ready. e should be held responsible in the first place for having only 1 controller working by themselves in the first place ? Most everyone with some common sense would never have just 1person working alone especially on a midnight shift knowing there a dam good chance of falling asleep when there not much to do to keep them alert. here yet another example that Govt F#%k-ups at the expense of those who travel, makes me want to drive everywhere from here on out !!
How about someone doing their EFFING job!
Submitted by vyger on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 12:00pm.
Over it! If you can' t stay awake to do your damn job then your arse gets fired and they hire someone who can.
That's what about 50,000 over the road overnight truckers do. Jackasses!
Time to start showing up in public and calling these grey matter lacking buffoons out.
Jiminy H Crickets!
I wonder if this might give
Submitted by Beukeboom on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 12:02pm.
I wonder if this might give rise again to calls to privatize/deunionize air traffic controllers.
Tell us liberals, you have
Submitted by dscott on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 12:12pm.
Tell us liberals, you have been spending $1 trillion MORE per year under Obama than under Bush, are we any safer? NOT!!! We have air traffic controllers sleeping on the job. Imagine what the MSM would have said if this happened under Bush???? No, we don't need to imagine since the track record speaks for itself.
BOGUS rationalizations to waste taxpayer dollars is all that this is.
How many attacks by Islamofascists has the country had to endure since you liberals have spent $1 TRILLION MORE a YEAR since Bush left office? Are we safer now? NOT!!!! Were it not for the incompetence of the specific terrorists in question hundreds of people would have died. What does that say about the government's effectiveness when they are given $1 TRILLION more per year to spend only to solely rely upon the traveling public and the incompetence of terrorists to thwart such attacks? What do you think this is, public school? You waste money and then blame the rich for not giving you more to waste???? Get your house in order, NOT ONE PENNY MORE SHOULD YOU BE GIVEN UNTIL YOU PROVE YOU CAN HANDLE MONEY WISELY.
Another Example of the Extortion Racket
Submitted by Comrade Jim on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 12:22pm.
Run be the Dem-Media Complex:
Hand over your money or we'll crash the country.
death in the sky
Submitted by Tjexcite on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 1:27pm.
Thousands where dying everyday in the sky in 2008 when they did not have that $4 billion additional dollars. It was in all over the web and on all over the news shows.
Did she make $2000 or $4000 dollar to give that interview. Yet they are not the rich as they look down on the little people from the ivory tower.
Authorized naps
Submitted by Model850 on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 2:17pm.
The brilliant solution to the problem is to authorize sleeping on the job, for up to TWO hours a night, PLUS another half-hour to "wake up."
And the FAA, the controllers union, AND NASA thinks it's a good idea. (Surprise surprise that the union wants to sanction sleeping on the job.)
You just can't make this stuff up.
What's wrong with a 12 hour
Submitted by dscott on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 4:28pm.
What's wrong with a 12 hour shift say 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.? You work 3 days for 36 hours and get full benefits and 4 full days OFF? These guys are making $160k a year but insist on working 8 ON and 8 OFF, how stupid can these people be? For a $160k I would except some better thinking. But NOOOOOOOO, the government's solution is to reward incompetence via union rules.
We need another Reagan to break the UNION and put things back into perspective. With millions of people out of work, you really have to pay someone $160k a year and then insult the rest of us and insist on paying them to sleep!!!!! Fire LaHood and find someone competent to do the JOB!
Do what the railroads do.
Submitted by CobraMan on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 5:07pm.
"We're going to work with Congress to make sure we have the right resources to have controllers that are well-trained and alert in these towers. That's our obligation to the flying public for safety."
Have you EVER thought about adopting the technology from other transportation related industries, specifically the "wake up" alarms that all commercial trains, whether cargo or passenger, have on board? You know, those alarms that sound every 15 minutes or so, ones that can only be canceled by the use of a switch? They were installed, due to government regulations (Regulations that were, guess what, formulated in Congress's Transportation committee, and enforced by, can you believe it, the DoT, your own office, Mr. Transportation Secretary!), to ensure that train operators never fell asleep during operations. Well, if they work for a train operator...
Come on, government: THINK! How much would it cost to place a digital countdown timer in each control tower? You can get them for under 10 dollars a piece!
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Simple: turn on the freaking lights in the control tower room,
Submitted by SickofLibs on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 4:41pm.
get some glare shields for the monitors and play Lady Gaga albums all night.
No one will be able to fall asleep even if they tried.
Brain drain
Submitted by fatboy on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 10:58pm.
Her brain has been dying for years. Her husband just beat her to it.
There is no other word for it.............
Submitted by Patriot II on Sat, 04/16/2011 - 10:49am.
This broad is insane imo