Recently, PASS asked members in Washington state to contact both of their senators regarding the Senate version of the FAA reauthorization legislation (S. 1451). Typically, when a congressional office receives letters from constituents, offices respond acknowledging receipt of the letter and/or addressing the issues of concern. We understand that Senator Cantwell has yet to respond to PASS members even though she led the effort for inclusion of language in Section 510 of the bill that promotes the contracting out of work currently performed by FAA employees. Therefore, we ask that PASS members who have not received a response contact Senator Cantwell again with the message below. Following up with Senator Cantwell's office is critical; she must understand that this anti-labor provision is harmful to federal employees and sends an anti-worker message in this Congress. Please take a minute to send the message below targeted specifically to Senator Cantwell's office. In addition, please follow up your emails with phone calls to Senator Cantwell's D.C. office at 202-224-3441. Tell Senator Cantwell's office to remove Section 510 from the FAA bill and instead support Section 314 as currently written.

Subject: Anti-Labor Provision in FAA Reauthorization Bill

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

Recently, I wrote to your office regarding language in the FAA reauthorization bill (S. 1451) that allows the FAA to contract out inherently governmental work currently performed by the highly trained, dedicated and successful FAA workforce. Unfortunately, I have yet to receive a response from your office.

In my previous letter to your office, I explained that S. 1451 contains language regarding the acceleration of NextGen's Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) components. Specifically, Section 510 promotes the contracting out of flight procedures development and sets an arbitrary goal for procedures development as justification for taking this work away from federal employees. It is my understanding that this language was included in the bill at your request; however, there appears to be no explanation as to why you would push such an anti-labor provision. In addition, setting unrealistic quotas in an effort to accelerate this safety-critical work is not based on the potential safety, capacity and operational benefits to the overall aviation system.

In fact, even the FAA has recognized that the inclusion of language to expand the use of third parties will not necessarily lead to an increase in procedures development. In addition, the language contained in Section 510 conflicts with Section 314 of the S. 1451, which requires the FAA to develop a plan for implementation of procedures development in consultation with stakeholders that includes a clearly defined budget and schedule.

As a constituent and federal employee, I am extremely concerned that Section 510 and any language aimed at contracting out this work will risk the benefits that are sure to be realized if this work is performed by the skilled and experienced FAA workforce. I ask that you work to remove this provision from the bill and instead support Section 314 of the bill as currently written. Please contact me at you earliest convenience to let me know where you stand on this issue and what you will do to not only protect the jobs of federal employees at the FAA but also the safety of the entire aviation system.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]