FWIW... Thanks all for what you have been doing, and the lobbyist as I have reported before is Jerry Tuso, who has many contacts. I will be calling Sam again early next week and will report what he says. Legal things are happening Sam said, and did not want me to say even that - I have no idea what is involved and refuse to speculate - but you can be certain it is in our interest. We have a right to know - and as soon as it is possible for the word to get out, I'm sure it will. Yes, it is very hard at this stage to be patient.
Not only airlines, also AOPA, other airmen's associations, and air carrier's groups - even individual pilots - all can help us. Staffers are good, but face time with congress reps is excellent. Keep their contact info at the top of your directory lists...
Forgive me if I've stepped on anyone's toes - and sorry I seem to be defending PATCO - I want more info also and it appears I got goat roped into being middleman here. I won't defend bad or absent behavior - from anyone.
I'll help you out here since you reached out to Sam and he left you hanging. Thanks again for trying to get some info from him but the lack of comms over the past year to numerous sites should tell us all we need to know about him. I said the other day he was useless and from what I've recently heard about last years wage negotiations he's full of shit as well.
The two bills that are coming up for vote are the THUD Bill and the FAA Reauthorization Bill. The language in these bills favorable to CWO's is a direct result of the letter writing efforts of everyone who took the time to write a stakeholder/politician and congressional/media contacts made by some of the CWO's, and several of the contractors joining together and putting up a substantial amount of money to pay for someone with real contacts to gain access to the politicians that write the bills (a lobbyist). PATCO describing Tuso as a lobbyist is a freaking joke. PATCO not sharing any of the below should make it apparent to everyone that they don't have a clue what's going on and are in way over their heads when they try to pretend that they do.
THUD BILL
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/FY2017%20Transportation,%20Housing%20and%20Urban%20Development%20Appropriations%20Bill%20S2844.pdf
Page 15 Provided further,
22 That none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
23 available by this Act or any other Act may be used to
24 eliminate the Contract Weather Observers program at any
25 airport.
THUD Report
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/FY2017%20Transportation,%20Housing%20and%20Urban%20Development%20Appropriations%20Bill%20Report%20114-243.pdf
PGS 30-31
Contract Weather Observers.—The FAA’s Contract Weather Observer
[CWO] program provides operationally-significant weather
information and support to the entire aviation community. CWO
safety professionals observe and report operationally-significant
weather conditions at airports across the country. These trained
31
specialists augment the Automated Surface Observing System
[ASOS], which detects and reports basic weather information for
aviation and forecasting.
The Committee has serious concerns about the FAA’s proposal to
eliminate the CWO program at 57 of these airports and replace it
with Limited Aviation Weather Reporting Services [LAWRS].
Under LAWRS, air traffic controllers, or airport staff, would be responsible
for the accuracy of weather information at the 57 airports
identified by the FAA. However, air traffic controllers already perform
a critical role, managing separation of aircraft, and are required
to remain inside of their towers. By law, weather observing
would be their lowest priority duty. Adding this responsibility to
the other important duties of air traffic controllers would seriously
degrade the speed and accuracy of operationally-significant weather
observations and reduce air traffic control coverage, particularly
at a time when air traffic controller staffing shortages are a continuing
issue for the FAA.
The Committee is also concerned that, to come to its determination
on eliminating CWOs at 57 airports, the FAA removed the frequency
of thunderstorms and low visibility as considerations for
which airports receive CWO service, without soliciting or receiving
sufficient stakeholder input. These types of conditions create serious
safety hazards that should have been explored by all stakeholders
and adequately taken into account by the FAA in its decision-making
processes.
Accordingly, the Committee directs the FAA to conduct a comprehensive
study, with public and stakeholder input, and issue a
report examining of all safety risks, hazard effects, and operational
effects on airlines and other stakeholders that could result from
loss of CWO services at the 57 airports currently targeted for the
loss of service. The Committee further directs the FAA to identify
how these targeted airports will accurately report rapidly changing
severe weather conditions including thunderstorms, lightning, fog,
visibility, cloud layers and ceilings, ice pellets, and freezing rain/
drizzle without contract weather observers and include the process
through which FAA analyzed the safety hazards associated with
eliminating the program. Additionally, the Committee directs the
FAA to provide this report to the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations within 30 days of its completion.
FAA Reauthorization Bill
www.commerce.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/992cabb4-bd39-474e-b8a7-8056ddd11ca9/DC007B30B900E86BC8D72E87BA555A73.faa-bill-text.pdfSEC 1219 Pages 37-38 SEC. 1219. CONTRACT WEATHER OBSERVERS.
19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the
20 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the
21 Federal Aviation Administration shall submit to the ap-
22 propriate committee of Congress a report—
23 (1) outlining safety risks, hazard effects, and
24 operational effects that could result from loss of con-
25 tract weather observer service at airports that use
March 9, 2016 (3:32 p.m.)
38
S:\LEGCNSL\LEXA\DOR15\AV\BILL\TNFAARA.3S.xml
1 this service and are under review by the Federal
2 Aviation Administration;
3 (2) detailing whether and how an airport de-
4 scribed in paragraph (1) can accurately report rap-
5 idly changing severe weather conditions, including
6 thunderstorms, lightning, fog, visibility, cloud layers
7 and ceilings, ice pellets, freezing rain, and drizzle
8 without contract weather observers; and
9 (3) detailing the process by which the Adminis-
10 trator analyzed the safety hazards associated with
11 eliminating the contract weather observer service.
12 (b) MORATORIUM.—The Administrator may not fi-
13 nalize any determination regarding the continued use of
14 the contract weather observer service at any airport until
15 after the date the report is submitted under subsection
16 (a).
