Since Kyrsten Sinema left the Democratic Party in December 2022, criticism of her by prominent Democrats has doubled. After a few from Bernie Sanders and Ruben Gallego, for now, the favorite to try to put her out of a job in 2024, it was Tammy Duckworth's turn.
Faced with the current shortage of airline pilots, the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is pushing a bill dubbed the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act.
Amid the legislative process, the Arizona Independent proposed an amendment to relax the requirements necessary to become a pilot, which currently include, among other things, 1,500 hours of training before being able to fly for public airlines. Their proposal is in line with the request of some regional airlines.
Not amused by this initiative was her colleague from Illinois, who came out blazing to attack Sinema directly. "It represents an unacceptable backsliding, a dangerous complacency in an industry where complacency kills. As chair of the aviation safety subcommittee, as a professional aviator, as a private pilot, I am holding the line on safety," she said.
Great meeting with Arizona pilots to hear their aviation safety priorities for the upcoming Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation. https://t.co/mr11WoHEoH pic.twitter.com/zXOXo5vM9e
— Kyrsten Sinema (@SenatorSinema) June 14, 2023
If that wasn't enough, she made a chilling statement to underline her point. "A vote to [change the training rules] for pilots will mean blood on your hands when the inevitable accident occurs as a result of an inadequately trained flight crew," she added.
As reported by POLITICO, the amendment, drafted between Sinema and Sen. John Thune (SD-R), "would allow certain types of airline training programs to have a greater weighting toward that 1500-hour requirement than they currently do, a proposal similar to those already rejected by the Biden Administration."
Due to the slim Democratic majority in the Upper House, if Sinema was able to gain Republican support, she could have included her amendment in the legislation. However, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee postponed its review indefinitely due to the controversy.
The requirements issue has gained public prominence since air travel reached near pre-pandemic levels, coinciding with a series of near misses in early 2023.
In this context, Duckworth said that we are going through a "chilling year" for aviation and that her experience as a pilot would not allow her to "be complicit in efforts to compromise on safety for the flying public."
The Regional Airlines Association, on the other hand, has shown itself to be one of the groups most supportive of the rule change proposed by Sinema and Thune.
