Blumenthal Statement On Congress's Passage Of Bill To Avert Furloughs, Tower Closures

(Hartford, CT) –Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) issued the following statement in response to Congress’s passage of a bill that would give the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) budget flexibility to avert fulroughs and contract tower closures:

“This measure provides the FAA with the funding and flexibility to end furloughs for tens of thousands of FAA personnel, and keep open all of the 149 contract towers that are scheduled to be closed, including towers at six airports in Connecticut. While ending the furloughs is a national priority, I am equally concerned about the status of the contract tower program. This program is a vital public safety and economic development asset for dozens of communities – many of them rural – in Connecticut and every corner of the country. I am working to ensure this measure is implemented immediately to fulfill its intent that the furloughs be ended so as to eliminate cost, inconvenience, and economic harm, as well as provide assurance that the contract towers will be kept open.

"And more broadly, we need to find a way to replace the sequester’s thoughtless, across-the-board cuts to many vital programs, with a balanced, thoughtful approach to deficit reduction.”