After Congress swiftly and overwhelmingly passed legislation Friday to provide the Federal Aviation Administration flexibility under sequestration to mitigate the worst impacts, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) demanded that Congress do the same for the military, which has also been hit by the automatic spending cuts.
“I support the action by Congress this week to provide the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with the flexibility it needs to keep air traffic controllers on the job and flights on schedule,” McCain said in a statement Friday. “However, it is shameful for us to make allowances for the FAA while doing nothing to stop the draconian cuts that are decimating our military today and putting our nation’s security in danger. Dealing with the impacts of sequestration on a case-by-case basis does nothing to fix the underlying issue and prolongs this damaging policy. While Congress gives flexibility to the FAA, our military aircraft don’t fly and our ships don’t sail. Just this week, the Chief of Staff of the Army stated that the draconian spending cuts will force the Army to cut an additional 100,000 troops while compromising ‘our ability to respond’ to national security challenges around the world, including on the Korean Peninsula. We must act to protect America’s security and fulfill our responsibilities to the men and women of our armed forces.”
Other constituencies are similarly complaining to Congress for not addressing their priorities that have been hit by the sequester.
