Napolitano Statement on Air Travel Delays Directly Contradicted by Airport Officials

[Wehrwolfen]

By Tom Blumer
March 4, 2013


According to the first paragraph of Alicia's Caldwell's report today at the Associated Press, aka the Adminstration's Press, Homeland Security Secretary Janey Napolitano told attendees at a Politico breakfast this morning (Politico's coverage is here) that, in Caldwell's words, "U.S. airports, including Los Angeles International and O'Hare International in Chicago, are already experiencing delays as a result of automatic federal spending cuts." Additionally, again in Caldwell's words, "she expects a cascading effect during the week, with wait times expected to double in worst cases."

Well, either someone forgot to tell airport spokesperson and the travel industry to fall in line, or said officials are refusing, according to follow-up stories at the Politico and the UK Telegraph. Notably, the AP had no such follow-up story at its national site as of 10 p.m. ET tonight, but did have a story by Pauline Jelinek ("HOW BUDGET CUTS COULD AFFECT YOU") published at the about the same time as the two follow-ups just noted dutifully echoing Napolitano's talking points. Excerpts from both follow-up stories are after the jump.

First, at the UK Telegraph, via Raf Sanchez (bolds are mine throughout this post):


Airports contradict Janet Napolitano's sequester claim

Airports have denied a claim by Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, that the sequester is already causing long delays for travelers at security screening checkpoints.

... When pressed for specifics she cited Chicago's O'Hare, Atlanta's Hartfield-Jackson and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), adding: "I don't mean to scare, I mean to inform."

However, when contacted by The Daily Telegraph, spokespeople for both O'Hare and LAX, as well as representatives from the travel industry, denied that airports had been hit by delays.

"We haven't had any slowdowns at all," said Marshall Lowe, a spokesman for LAX. Mr Lowe said that he had been on duty over the weekend and received no reports of unusual security delays.
DeAllous Smith, a spokesman for Hartfield-Jackson, said: "There have been no abnormally long lines at the security checkpoint nor unusual aircraft delays at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as a result of sequestration."

Their comments were echoed by Karen Pride, the director of media relations at Chicago Department of Aviation, who described operations at O'Hare as "normal" with "no unusual delays or cancellations".

... The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not immediately return a request for comment on Ms Napolitano's claim.

... A statement released Friday by the TSA said travelers "will likely not see immediate impacts at airport security checkpoints" but that delays would increase over time.​

Unfortunately, Conn Carroll has the most likely explanation of what's going on here, as expressed at the Washington Examiner early this morning:

Obama’s campaign of pain​

President Obama is just 42 days into his second term in the White House but he is already done governing. As The Washington Post reported this weekend, Obama is already “executing plans to win back the House in 2014, which he and his advisers believe will be crucial to the outcome of his second term and to his legacy as president.”

... In other words, Obama is done trying to work with Republicans in 2013 and 2014. He is abandoning any real effort for bipartisan immigration, gun, or energy reform.

... And Obama’s first step in that campaign will be to maximize the amount of pain the sequester inflicts on the American people. ABC News reports: “Now that the sequester has gone into effect — bringing on the spending cuts Obama once guaranteed would never happen — the president is in the awkward place of rooting for it be felt as he and his administration has predicted.”[/INDENT]

Read more:
Napolitano Statement on Air Travel Delays Directly Contradicted by Airport Officials | NewsBusters​

 

[S.J.]

Janet is nothing more than a propaganda spokesman.

 

[blastoff]

Imagine if you check in with the new airport officials they'll have all the poop on Janet's delays.

 

[tinydancer]

Yeah the sequester is making life so hard that the TSA just spent $50 Million dollars on new uniforms.

I'm picking this up at drudge will try to get a link. $1,000. per employee. More expensive than the Marine Corps.

TSA uniform perks more expensive than Marine Corps | WashingtonExaminer.com

 

[tinydancer]

She blatantly lied.

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - just in time for Congress' spring break...

Congress approves bill to end airport delays
Friday, 04.26.13 WASHINGTON -- Congress easily approved legislation Friday ending furloughs of air traffic controllers that have delayed hundreds of flights daily, infuriating travelers and causing political headaches for lawmakers.

The House approved the measure on a 361-41 vote, a day after the Senate swiftly agreed to the bill. The vote came as lawmakers prepared to leave town for a weeklong spring recess, a break that would have been less pleasant if they were confronted by constituents upset over travel delays. Republicans accused the Obama administration of purposely furloughing controllers to pressure Congress to lift $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts - known as the sequester - that took effect last month at government agencies. "The administration has played shameful politics with the sequester at the cost of hard-working American families," said Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa.

The White House and Democrats have argued that by law, the administration has little room to decide where the cuts fall. The White House and Democrats want Congress to work on legislation lifting all of the cuts, which lawmakers noted have also caused reductions in Head Start preschool programs, benefits for the long-term unemployed and medical research. "How can we sit there and say, 'Four million Meals on Wheels for seniors, gone, but that's not important. Over 70,000 children off Head Start, but that's not important.' What is important is for Republicans to hold a hard line" on the budget, said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The Federal Aviation Administration has furloughed the controllers as part of the government-wide reductions. The bill would let the FAA use up to $253 million from airport improvement and other accounts to end the furloughs for the controllers through the Sept. 30 end of the federal fiscal year. In addition to restoring full staffing by controllers, the available funds can be used for other FAA operations, including preventing the closure of small airport towers around the country. The FAA had said it will shut the facilities to meet its share of the spending cuts. The FAA said there had been at least 863 flights delayed on Wednesday "attributable to staffing reductions resulting from the furlough." Administration officials participated in the negotiations that led to the deal and evidently registered no objections.

Read more here: WASHINGTON: Congress approves bill to end airport delays - Politics Wires - MiamiHerald.com

 

[Wehrwolfen]

Yeah the sequester is making life so hard that the TSA just spent $50 Million dollars on new uniforms.

I'm picking this up at drudge will try to get a link. $1,000. per employee. More expensive than the Marine Corps.

TSA uniform perks more expensive than Marine Corps | WashingtonExaminer.com

DHS has a penchant for spending. The director is lying to us. They also contracted to buy 1.6 billion rounds of ammo, but the administration couldn't find the money for the Air controllers. The Senate and Congress in their wisdom passed a limited Bill today allowing Air Controller mgmt. the ability to use funds from different areas within the FAA. This is only stop gap, but the politicians can get home on time.
Obama wanted the Sequester. He's got it now and is bringing America to it's knees. The Senate seems to be willing to go along with Obama's plan.