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Trump to Propose Privatizing US Air Traffic Control

by VOA News

   President Donald Trump is set to propose Monday privatizing the
   nation's air traffic control system as part of a week of events
   focusing on infrastructure.

   Air traffic control currently falls under the operations of the Federal
   Aviation Administration. Gary Cohn, Trump's chief economic adviser,
   told reporters ahead of Monday's announcement that privatization would
   help reduce travel times and fuel costs.

   Later in the week, Trump is scheduled to travel to the state of Ohio to
   discuss improvements to levees, dams and locks that are key to
   agriculture shipping.

   There is also a planned meeting with a group of governors and mayors to
   discuss their plans, and the president is due to visit the Department
   of Transportation on Friday to talk about regulatory reforms related to
   roads and rail.

   "It doesn't matter who you are, whether you are a farmer in the
   Midwest, or a mother driving your kids to and from school, or a worker
   or a college kid flying back and forth to school, you're affected by
   infrastructure," Cohn said.

   Trump during his campaign for president called for a $1 trillion
   program to fix up the nation's infrastructure. His budget proposal
   issued last month included $200 billion for infrastructure that the
   administration hopes will lead to other investments. The White House
   has also discussed incentivizing local governments to sell existing
   infrastructure to private firms.

   Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat representing Hawaii, says that
   approach is "literally the opposite of an infrastructure plan" and is
   "dead on arrival."

   Rep. Rick Larsen, the ranking Democrat on the House aviation
   subcommittee, called the proposal to privatize air traffic control
   "another idea worth killing."

   "Congress will have much to say about this," Larsen wrote on Twitter.