Following US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy\u2019s recent and repeated failure to clarify pressing life-and-death issues related to aviation safety\u2014while criticizing his predecessor in the Biden administration\u2014the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one denies the need to modernize air traffic control and strengthen the FAA. But you can\u2019t fix the system by rewriting history and dodging responsibility,\u201d said William J. McGee, Senior Fellow for Aviation & Travel at American Economic Liberties Project.<\/strong> \u201c<\/strong>Secretary Sean Duffy has repeatedly failed to support the FAA and ATC modernization when it mattered. Ahead of a busy upcoming summer travel season, finger-pointing at the Biden Administration won\u2019t make flying safer \u2014 and it\u2019s especially rich given Secretary Buttigieg was among the few DOT Secretaries in decades to take meaningful steps to modernize our decades-old ATC system.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn back-to-back hearings on the FAA Reauthorization Act this week, Congress was blocked from getting straight answers on the health of our air traffic control system\u2014because Secretary Duffy wasn\u2019t there,\u201d McGee added.<\/strong> \u201c<\/strong>Whether he declined to attend or was never invited, the result was the same: lawmakers were left questioning deputies who were unable to answer basic questions about staffing or budgets. One even claimed to be unaware of the 332 FAA employees<\/a> recently fired\u2014despite widespread reporting on the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n In the wake of repeated ATC failures at Newark Liberty International Airport, Duffy proposed a \u201cbig<\/a> beautiful<\/a>\u201d modernization of ATC<\/a> within four years, while the Government Accountability Office<\/a> recently estimated modernization will take 10-13 years. In response to criticism of the FAA, Duffy has repeatedly stated that all ATC failures are due to former Secretary Pete Buttigieg, despite Buttigieg improving the controller pipeline and FAA\u2019s own website documenting his hiring of 1,500 controllers<\/a> in 2023.<\/p>\n Duffy\u2019s words and actions have not aligned. As a member of Congress in 2019, he and 179 other Republicans voted against FAA funding<\/a>. And just this month he warned DOT employees of further DOGE firings<\/a> amidst worker buyouts. Duffy also ignores how the first Trump administration failed to address FAA staffing shortages and equipment failures and was best known for two crippling government shutdowns<\/a> that left unpaid controllers \u201cdemoralized.\u201d<\/p>\n Economic Liberties and many others have long noted the need for overhauling ATC and strengthening the FAA. But gaslighting about the causes won\u2019t provide a fix; the fact is that Republicans have not acted meaningfully to address these problems and playing the blame game<\/a> ignores the historical record.<\/p>\n