WASHINGTON – As some members of Congress tout a deal to halt furloughs of air traffic controllers, others are pointing to the possible negatives.
“My concern is that it will remove pressure from us to still get a grander bargain deal where Democrats are willing to do entitlement reforms, Republicans are willing to do some more revenues,” says Virginia Sen. Mark Warner.
Warner, a Democrat, has been working with a bipartisan group of senators pushing for federal budget changes that include spending cuts and tax reforms.
“If we don’t get a bigger budget deal, you’re going to see this week it’s air traffic controllers. Next week, it’s another issue,” Warner says.
Despite his concerns, Warner tells NewsChannel 8 there is good news associated with the legislation, which allows the Federal Aviation Administration to use funds from elsewhere in its budget to pay for air traffic controllers.
He says the work slowdowns will fade away, and it was not fair to make air traffic controllers the scapegoats during the debate about budget cuts.
“The good news is we’re going to not see the kind of delays that would have gotten worse.”
Warner also made a point to mention a recent leaked report that members of Congress were trying to exempt themselves from mandates contained in President Obama’s health care overhaul.
He calls the issue an unfounded rumor.
“I’ve asked a lot of other senators what the heck is going on. Nobody seems to know exactly where those reports came from.”
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