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Theres risk that gets injected into the system when controllers multitask · INSIGHT TODAY

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: And for more on the impacts from this shutdown, including
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: on air travel. I'm joined now by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: We're so pleased to have you here this morning, mister Secretary,
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  Speaker 1: Americans have experienced major delay. There's a ground stop this
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: morning at Newark All because air traffic controllers are calling
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  Speaker 1: in sick. The FAA is saying that currently nearly fifty
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  Speaker 1: percent of major air traffic control facilities are experienced staffing shortages,
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  Speaker 1: and nearly eighty percent of air traffic controllers are out
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  Speaker 1: at New York area facilities. We know that safety is
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  Speaker 1: your greatest concern, but at some point might you have
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  Speaker 1: to shut down portions of the US airspace, maybe even airports?
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  Speaker 1: What point are we at at that possibility?
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  Speaker 2: Well, so, first off, I've been traveling around talking to
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  Speaker 2: air traffic controllers and there really is frustration the fact
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  Speaker 2: that there's a shutdown right now. Now the Democrats are
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: focusing on illegal healthcare and we've endangered the snap beneficiaries
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: and they don't get paid as air traffic controllers. There's
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  Speaker 2: a burning frustration, like in the rest of the country.
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  Speaker 2: And so you mentioned that safety is my top priority,
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  Speaker 2: and it is we will delay, we will cancel any
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  Speaker 2: kind of flight across the national airspace to make sure
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  Speaker 2: people are safe. But there is a level of risk
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  Speaker 2: that gets injected into the system when we have a
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  Speaker 2: controller that's doing two jobs instead of one. We manage that,
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  Speaker 2: we look out for it and safety is the priority.
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  Speaker 2: We'll take all steps necessary though, to make sure that
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  Speaker 2: you get from point A to point B and you
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  Speaker 2: do it safely.
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  Speaker 1: And just again, how close are we to this point
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  Speaker 1: where you might have to close airspace or airports As
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  Speaker 1: we watch air traffic controllers calling in sick.
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  Speaker 2: Well, so first off, if you look at other shutdowns,
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  Speaker 2: are air traffic controllers, God bless them. They've been coming
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  Speaker 2: to work. They're frustrated, but by and large they've come.
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: They're not getting paid. And so I can't predict, Martha,
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  Speaker 2: what's going to happen in the future. But as each
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  Speaker 2: day goes on and again it's not you miss a paycheck,
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: but every day you have expenses food and gas, and
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: then bills come in, whether it's Netflix or your YouTube TV.
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  Speaker 2: The expenses continue to roll and the pressure continues to grow.
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  Speaker 2: And the problem is these controllers, a lot of them
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  Speaker 2: are new controllers, or their trainee controllers. They don't make
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  Speaker 2: a lot of money and so they may be the
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  Speaker 2: only person that is bringing money into the household. They
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  Speaker 2: have to make a decision. Do I go to work
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  Speaker 2: and not get a paycheck and not put food on
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  Speaker 2: the table, or do I drive for Uber or door
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  Speaker 2: dash or wait tables. Those are the real thoughts and
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  Speaker 2: conversations these controllers are having. So as I look forward,
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  Speaker 2: I hope Democrats are going to come to their senses
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  Speaker 2: and open the government back up. But I would just
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  Speaker 2: tell you, as bad as it is the numbers you
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  Speaker 2: just gave this, we will look back if if the
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  Speaker 2: government doesn't open in the next week or two, we'll
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  Speaker 2: look back as these were the good days. The bad days,
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  Speaker 2: it's only going to get worse. And just wanted to
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  Speaker 2: point on our controllers. I think you've reported we have
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  Speaker 2: a really old, antiquated air traffic control equipment. We have
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  Speaker 2: the most efficient and safe airspace, not because of the equipment,
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  Speaker 2: because the great men and women who control the airspace,
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  Speaker 2: and we should treat them like the professionals that they
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  Speaker 2: are and pay them.
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  Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about that. The Trump administration this week
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  Speaker 1: paid service members by using two point five billion dollars
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  Speaker 1: in housing funds from the so called Big Beautiful Bill.
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  Speaker 1: Why haven't you done something similar with air traffic controllers.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, we've looked throughout our funding mechanisms to see how
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  Speaker 2: we could pull money in and pay our controllers. We
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  Speaker 2: kept the Central Air Service operational. We're paying our academy
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: students at Oklahoma City, but they get a stipend as
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  Speaker 2: they go through the academy. We're pulling in whatever dollar
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  Speaker 2: we can, but there's real restrictions when you don't fund
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  Speaker 2: the government, When you say there's no dollars available, it
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  Speaker 2: becomes really challenging to find dollars to pay the different
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  Speaker 2: components of really critical workforces that keep our country moving forward.
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  Speaker 2: And again it's simple, Democrats. Open up the government, negotiate
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  Speaker 2: a deal, have a conversation, introduce a bill, debate it,
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  Speaker 2: vote on it. But shutting the government down is not
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  Speaker 2: the pathway forward. I think to make sure you get
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  Speaker 2: your way and you get your will.
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  Speaker 1: And mister Secretary, I want to read from our poll.
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  Speaker 1: ABC's new poll with the Washington Post in IPSOS finds
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  Speaker 1: forty four percent of Americans blame Donald Trump and the
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: Republicans for the shutdown, while thirty three percent say the
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  Speaker 1: same about Democrats. So people are looking at this because
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  Speaker 1: the Republicans obviously have both Houses of Congress in the
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  Speaker 1: White House, and putting the blame on Republicans. So what
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  Speaker 1: should Republicans be doing?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think it's important to say, in September, we
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  Speaker 2: Republicans said we should have the same funding levels in
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  Speaker 2: September as we do in October. We didn't change anything. Again,
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  Speaker 2: you don't use shutdowns to pass bills. You don't hold
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  Speaker 2: the American people hostage. You don't hurt the American people
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  Speaker 2: to get leveraged. And that's exactly what Democrats are doing
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  Speaker 2: right now because people are getting hurt. And again, whether
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  Speaker 2: you're traveling home to see your family or go to
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  Speaker 2: a funeral or a wedding, or you're on a business trip,
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  Speaker 2: the hours that people are spending in airports, Democrats see that
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  Speaker 2: as leverage. And this is not. This is not the
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  Speaker 2: pathway to get your way or get your will. And
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  Speaker 2: I would just knowe Martha Donald Trump had a historical election,
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  Speaker 2: He won the popular vote, he won the seven swing states,
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  Speaker 2: Democrats roundly lost. And so now to say I'm going
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  Speaker 2: to shut down the government to get my way, my will.
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  Speaker 2: You can't cave to that. Otherwise you can have a
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  Speaker 2: shutdown every third month. And so again, the Poland is
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  Speaker 2: one thing, but the process is another.
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  Speaker 1: And let's talk about the process and President Trump's rule.
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  Speaker 1: You say Democrats have to come to the table. Republicans
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  Speaker 1: have not been negotiating. And Scott Beston told me just
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  Speaker 1: a week ago he think of he thinks it would
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  Speaker 1: be a waste of time for Donald Trump to hold
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: another meeting. Back in twenty eleven, when Donald Trump was
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: considering a run for president, this is what he said
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  Speaker 1: about Barack Obama as a shutdown loomed.
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  Speaker 2: Let's listen, So, how would you do it now?
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  Speaker 1: Now you're in the oval office right now, I would get.
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  Speaker 2: Everybody together and we'd have a budget.
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  Speaker 1: And they've all gotten together. Well, that's because they don't
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  Speaker 1: have the right leader.
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  Speaker 2: You don't have the right leader. This is the president
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  Speaker 2: of the United States has to get this done.
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  Speaker 1: And he went on to say the president is the
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  Speaker 1: one that has to get people together. And it would
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  Speaker 1: be a tremendously negative mark on the president if they
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  Speaker 1: couldn't get it done. What's your reaction to that.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I'll just tell you that the Barack Obama said,
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  Speaker 2: I'm not going to be blackmailed. I'm not going to
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  Speaker 2: be held hostage. This is not the way you negotiate
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  Speaker 2: a deal. You lost the election, Republicans. That's what Barack
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  Speaker 2: Obama said, go through the process, and I think that's
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  Speaker 2: the right philosophy right now.
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  Speaker 1: And again, President Trump, given what he said, should President
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  Speaker 1: Trump be meeting, would you like to see him hold
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  Speaker 1: another meeting?
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  Speaker 2: So here's the problem. Donald Trump has nothing to negotiate with.
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  Speaker 2: We passed a clean funding bill, right so what do
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  Speaker 2: you negotiate with when you again money in September, same
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  Speaker 2: as October. Democrats are trying to use this as leverage
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  Speaker 2: and again trying to change legislation that they don't like.
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  Speaker 2: But again, the changes they want to make want to
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: fund health care for illegal migrants. That doesn't make sense
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  Speaker 2: to Republicans. If you want to have a conversation, let's
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: have it. The health care funding doesn't end till the
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  Speaker 2: end of the year. So why are you shutting the
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  Speaker 2: government down in October when you could have a conversation
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: for three months until the end of the year. I
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  Speaker 2: think this doesn't make any sense. I think Democrats are angry.
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  Speaker 2: They're playing to the left wing side of their base.
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  Speaker 2: Most common sense Democrats, I think would say open it
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  Speaker 2: up and negotiate, pass bills, debate it but this is
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  Speaker 2: not the approach on how you pass legislation.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, thanks so much for joining us, and we'll let
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  Speaker 1: Tim Tim Kaine respond to what you just said. Thanks
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  Speaker 1: so much.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Martha,