Coburn Outlines Plan To Save FAA Jobs During Sequester

After the Federal Aviation Administration announced on this week that it would close nearly 200 air traffic control towers and furlough thousands of employees in light of sequestration, U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) wrote a letter outlining a plan that would save those jobs, according to a news release.

Sen. Coburn outlined his plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the budget, and he is asking the agency to cancel upcoming conferences, freeze nonessential hiring and eliminate or reform low-priority programs before cutting costs that could impact flight safety, according to a letter written by the legislator.

"While we value the work of everyone at the FAA, not every employee has duties critical to the immediate mission of the agency," Dr. Coburn said. "As such, we should give higher priority to those performing essential tasks over others who are not. Air traffic controllers, safety inspectors, and technicians should certainly receive the highest priority."

Coburn's letter includes "modest reforms" and five ways he believes the agency can save hundreds of millions without anyone losing their jobs, all while meeting requirements of sequestration.

Read Sen. Coburn's letter to the FAA