House Dems Hammer Bush On Lax Regulation
Following another week of chaos at America’s airports, the House Democratic Caucus is circulating a memo tying the recent flight delays to lax regulation of the airline industry, which they see as part of a larger problem of oversight of federal agencies under President Bush.
The memo entitled “Coincidence or Pattern? Bush regulators too close to industry” was sent out on Monday morning.
“Under the Bush administration, federal agency after federal agency has faced scrutiny for lax oversight and scandals – and the common thread for all is that the agencies are run by Bush appointees who have maintained close ties to the industries they were charged with regulating,” the memo states.
Last week American Airlines cancelled over 3,000 flights across the country to inspect the wiring on planes, stranding hundreds of thousands of passengers.
The Democrats’ memo highlights the fact that acting Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Robert A. Sturgell had previously worked as an operations supervisor for United Airlines.
The memo also focuses on other federal regulators who have come under scrutiny, including Nancy Nord, the chairwoman of the Product Safety Commission and Richard Stickler, the acting assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.
FAA officials pushed back against the allegations Monday, saying that all officials responsible for airline safety are career FAA employees and not political appointees.
“If we had an inappropriate relationship with [the airline industry] it has not shown in the record,” said Diane Spitaliere, a spokeswoman for the FAA. “We are in the safest period in aviation history.”
President Bush was expected to get an update on the state of the airline industry during a Cabinet meeting on Monday.
After the meeting, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is “very empathetic and concerned” about the recent troubles with American Airlines and that the administration is investigating.