Bono tracon Amendment Passes House
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Congresswoman Mary Bono (R-CA-45) announced that the U.S. House of Representatives today passed her amendment to ensure that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) can fund the return of Terminal Approach Control (TRACON) operations to Palm Spring International Airport (PSP) if an FAA review of the TRACON relocation to the Southern California air traffic control center (SoCal TRACON) was a mistake.
“The outage we saw just a few weeks ago following the relocation of the PSP operations to the San Diego regional facility shows that the FAA must be more thoughtful in their approach to any future TRACON relocations,” Bono said. “This will ensure that the FAA takes the appropriate time to engage local stakeholders to ensure that airports, pilots, air traffic controllers and others are prepared for such an operational shift.”
Due to the recent temporary problems experienced in PSP air traffic control functions being handled at the SoCal TRACON center, Bono joined with three of her House colleagues to offer an amendment that would prevent federal funds from being spent by the FAA to consolidate TRACON facilities in the future.
The amendment, offered by Bono, and Reps. Alcee Hastings (FL-23), Ted Poe (TX-2) and Bob Filner (CA-51) states that no federal funds may be spent to perform other TRACON relocations/consolidations across the country. Also included in the amendment was language advanced by Bono that protects the ability of the FAA to receive funding if they reverse their decision to move the PSP operations to the SoCal TRACON.
“Our experience here in Southern California has shown that the FAA really needs to do a better job of engaging the cities and regions affected by these changes scheduled to take place in states throughout the nation,” Bono added.
The amendment was offered to H.R. 3074, the 2008 Department of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development and related agencies appropriations measure and passed the House with a 268-158 vote, according to Bono.
