Mongolia Jeanne: Shaheen’s airy talking points
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen says the U.S. air traffic control system is worse than Mongolia’s. And that means one thing. She’s either suddenly become an expert on Mongolian civil aviation, or she’s parroting someone else’s talking points. Guess which one it is?
Two years ago, Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller said he wished our air traffic control system was as good as Mongolia’s. It’s become a standard Democrat line. It’s also ridiculous.
Mongolia got its first jet aircraft in 1992, according to a Mongolian government website. By the mid 2000’s, its air traffic was increasing 15 percent a year, mostly flyovers between Russia and China or Europe and China. It needed a modern air traffic control system. By contracting with private companies and partnering with Korean Air, it got one. Because it didn’t have to replace hundreds of billions of dollars worth of outdated radar equipment, the update was relatively easy. The United States faces a tougher challenge.
Shaheen claims that the United States is so far behind the rest of the world in air traffic control because it just doesn’t invest enough in its infrastructure. She’s parroting President Obama’s talking points: We have to spend more on infrastructure because it “puts people back to work” and improves safety.
By the way, the Democratic-controlled House passed a bill to fund a new GPS-based air traffic control system in 2009. It died in the Democratic-controlled Senate. One issue: funding. The Bush administration supported a per-flight fee that would hit small plane owners hard; Democrats didn’t like it. Now, the Obama administration has proposed another per-flight fee.
Does Shaheen support that? Or would she cut spending somewhere else to fund this infrastrucutre upgrade? Or, more likely, is she unsure and just waiting for someone to tell her what to say?
Two years ago, Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller said he wished our air traffic control system was as good as Mongolia’s. It’s become a standard Democrat line. It’s also ridiculous.
Mongolia got its first jet aircraft in 1992, according to a Mongolian government website. By the mid 2000’s, its air traffic was increasing 15 percent a year, mostly flyovers between Russia and China or Europe and China. It needed a modern air traffic control system. By contracting with private companies and partnering with Korean Air, it got one. Because it didn’t have to replace hundreds of billions of dollars worth of outdated radar equipment, the update was relatively easy. The United States faces a tougher challenge.
Shaheen claims that the United States is so far behind the rest of the world in air traffic control because it just doesn’t invest enough in its infrastructure. She’s parroting President Obama’s talking points: We have to spend more on infrastructure because it “puts people back to work” and improves safety.
By the way, the Democratic-controlled House passed a bill to fund a new GPS-based air traffic control system in 2009. It died in the Democratic-controlled Senate. One issue: funding. The Bush administration supported a per-flight fee that would hit small plane owners hard; Democrats didn’t like it. Now, the Obama administration has proposed another per-flight fee.
Does Shaheen support that? Or would she cut spending somewhere else to fund this infrastrucutre upgrade? Or, more likely, is she unsure and just waiting for someone to tell her what to say?
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