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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release May 3, 1994

                     VICE PRESIDENT GORE TO ANNOUNCE 
                   AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL REFORM PROPOSAL

Vice President Gore, together with Transportation Secretary Federico Pena, will announce specifics of a plan to corporatize air traffic control services in the United States. This initiative stems from a recommendation made last year by the Vice President's National Performance Review.

"This idea illustrates several important reinvention principles," said Vice President Gore. "With the current structure, we can't procure the state-of-the-art technology necessary to make air travel not only safer but more efficient. Incorporating air traffic control will allow us to bypass stifling procurement and personnel procedures."

If implemented, this plan will remove day-to-day air traffic control operations from the Federal Aviation Administration, leaving the FAA free to concentrate more directly on safety issues and oversight. The plan would also allow for quicker installation of up-to-date equipment, making air traffic control operations safer and more efficient.

"Another important reinvention principle is at work here," said the Vice President. "Reinventing government is also about empowering employees. By freeing the FAA from the actual delivery of services, the employees can focus more fully on the safety of the services."

An Executive Oversight Committee, based at the Department of Transportation, has spent six months weighing several options for corporatizing air traffic control and this event marks the release of their final recommendations.

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