In one of the forums, it was stated that there is no waste or "Pork" with the way our government spends our tax dollars.
If that is what you think, I have some prime land in Florida to sell you.
December 2002 Porker Of The Month
Name: FAA Administrator Marion Blakey
While lawmakers have left Capitol Hill for the holidays, taxpayer money remains at risk in Washington thanks to federal agencies. There are few more costly, wasteful, and mismanaged projects than the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS). For continuing this failure-wracked, budget boondoggle, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) names FAA Administrator Marion Blakey Porker of the Month for December 2002.
Administrator Blakey took the FAA helm in September 2002, which includes the modernization of the nation's air traffic control system. The project has been underway for nearly two decades, and the current focus is now on STARS as the solution to what has become a very expensive problem. However, since the beginning, STARS has been in trouble.
STARS originally required installation of new hardware and software at all 172 FAA terminal facilities to better monitor aircraft. It was originally scheduled to commence in 1998, at a cost of $940.2 million. However, after falling four years behind schedule and with projected costs rising to $1.7 billion, the FAA earlier this year cut the number of facilities where STARS was to be installed to 74. Those facilities are now supposed to be online with STARS by 2005 at a cost of $1.33 billion. This change resulted in a 41 percent increase in costs, despite installations taking place in 57 percent fewer airports. The average cost per facility will rise from $4.8 million to $17.5 million. The remaining facilities will use Common ARTS, an alternative system the FAA installed at a cost of $90.5 million while waiting for the completion of STARS.
While much blame for STARS falls to Ms. Blakey's predecessors, particularly Jane Garvey, Blakey has now been in office long enough to know of the program's failings--including dangerous technical problems such as failure to detect planes--and launch an investigation. Instead, Administrator Blakey allowed STARS installation to proceed as scheduled at the Philadelphia International Airport control facility on November 17. True to form, STARS had to be shut down the next day for nearly 18 hours due to a technical glitch, as controllers were forced to manually hand off planes, a process usually done by computer. Air traffic at the airport had to be reduced, causing numerous delays.
Despite major glitches at smaller facilities in El Paso and Syracuse, and objections from the technicians union charged with certifying STARS, Blakey instead opted for the public relations success of "installing" the system in a major airport. To make sure this was not forestalled, members of the air traffic controllers union received a $3,000 bonus and a week's vacation to accept STARS.
To date, 149 STARS systems have been purchased, and only three deployed. The Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General earlier this month announced it will conduct an audit of the Terminal Automation Modernization Program, focusing on STARS. This follows a General Accounting Office report outlining serious problems with STARS released in September. For continuing a costly, ineffectual, and possibly dangerous program, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey is CAGW's Porker of the Month.
If that is what you think, I have some prime land in Florida to sell you.
December 2002 Porker Of The Month
Name: FAA Administrator Marion Blakey
While lawmakers have left Capitol Hill for the holidays, taxpayer money remains at risk in Washington thanks to federal agencies. There are few more costly, wasteful, and mismanaged projects than the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS). For continuing this failure-wracked, budget boondoggle, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) names FAA Administrator Marion Blakey Porker of the Month for December 2002.
Administrator Blakey took the FAA helm in September 2002, which includes the modernization of the nation's air traffic control system. The project has been underway for nearly two decades, and the current focus is now on STARS as the solution to what has become a very expensive problem. However, since the beginning, STARS has been in trouble.
STARS originally required installation of new hardware and software at all 172 FAA terminal facilities to better monitor aircraft. It was originally scheduled to commence in 1998, at a cost of $940.2 million. However, after falling four years behind schedule and with projected costs rising to $1.7 billion, the FAA earlier this year cut the number of facilities where STARS was to be installed to 74. Those facilities are now supposed to be online with STARS by 2005 at a cost of $1.33 billion. This change resulted in a 41 percent increase in costs, despite installations taking place in 57 percent fewer airports. The average cost per facility will rise from $4.8 million to $17.5 million. The remaining facilities will use Common ARTS, an alternative system the FAA installed at a cost of $90.5 million while waiting for the completion of STARS.
While much blame for STARS falls to Ms. Blakey's predecessors, particularly Jane Garvey, Blakey has now been in office long enough to know of the program's failings--including dangerous technical problems such as failure to detect planes--and launch an investigation. Instead, Administrator Blakey allowed STARS installation to proceed as scheduled at the Philadelphia International Airport control facility on November 17. True to form, STARS had to be shut down the next day for nearly 18 hours due to a technical glitch, as controllers were forced to manually hand off planes, a process usually done by computer. Air traffic at the airport had to be reduced, causing numerous delays.
Despite major glitches at smaller facilities in El Paso and Syracuse, and objections from the technicians union charged with certifying STARS, Blakey instead opted for the public relations success of "installing" the system in a major airport. To make sure this was not forestalled, members of the air traffic controllers union received a $3,000 bonus and a week's vacation to accept STARS.
To date, 149 STARS systems have been purchased, and only three deployed. The Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General earlier this month announced it will conduct an audit of the Terminal Automation Modernization Program, focusing on STARS. This follows a General Accounting Office report outlining serious problems with STARS released in September. For continuing a costly, ineffectual, and possibly dangerous program, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey is CAGW's Porker of the Month.
