From 1993 to 2001,Blakey was the principal of Blakey &Associates,now Blakey &Agnew,a Washington,D.C. public affairs consulting firm with a particular focus on transportation issues and traffic safety. [3]
Blakey has held six previous Presidential appointments,four of which required Senate confirmation. From 1992 to 1993,Blakey served as administrator of the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). As the nation's leading highway safety official,she was charged with reducing deaths,injuries,and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. Prior to her service at NHTSA,she held key positions at the United States Department of Commerce,the United States Department of Education,the National Endowment for the Humanities,the White House,and the United States Department of Transportation. [3] For instance,in 1989 Blakey was appointed as a member of the Commission on Presidential Scholars. Prior to that,she was Deputy Assistant to the President for Public Affairs and Communications Planning at the White House. Prior to this Blakey was director of public affairs and special assistant to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. From 1982 to 1984,she was director of public affairs at the National Endowment for the Humanities. Previously Blakey served as director of that agency's youth programs and in its Office of Planning and Policy Assessment.
FAA Administrator
Blakey was sworn in on September 13,2002 as the 15th Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration,following her appointment by George W. Bush during his first term in office. Her commission as FAA Administrator ended on September 13,2007.
During Blakey's tenure as Administrator,the National Airspace System absorbed major air traffic growth,which contributed to flight delays during early implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen),which is slated to replace the aging air traffic control (ATC) system. [4] Just prior to departure as administrator,she attributed the increased delays on poor scheduling by the airlines at busy airports. [5] Blakey also attributed delays to bad weather,increased regional jet traffic,fewer air traffic controllers in the system and failures or delays attributed to the antiquated air traffic system which she worked to replace with NextGen. [6] [7] Senator Charles Schumer of the opposition Democratic Party publicly blamed the FAA for the delays,and called for Blakey's resignation. [8] Shortly after her tenure ended,on September 25,2007,the Office of the Inspector General issued a report stating,"Based on the first 7 months of the year,it is clear that 2007 may be the busiest travel period since the peak of 2000 and may surpass the 2000 record levels for flight delays,cancellations,and diversions." [9] [10]
The FAA declared an impasse over contract negotiations and imposed work rules including partial pay caps for veteran controllers and an alternative,lower pay scale for new hires on the air traffic controller workforce,represented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). The five-year labor contract in dispute was imposed on Labor Day in 2006 after Congress failed to intervene. The FAA thus imposed a unilateral reduction in pay scale of approximately 30 percent on active air traffic controllers only—all other FAA employees,including air traffic staff (those air traffic employees not directly involved in the control of air traffic) and supervisors/management retained their pay scales. The following year the Federal Labor Relations Authority ruled against NATCA's 2006 grievance. [11] In 2006,Blakey said the agency's final proposal would result in current controllers earning an average of $187,000 a year in pay and benefits after five-years,up from the current $166,000 average. [12] NATCA disputed those figures,saying they included overtime needed because of staffing shortages.
In May 2006,she did not anticipate increased retirements saying,"I was very surprised that the union said that there would be retirements triggered under the current proposal." [12] However,828 controllers retired,exceeding the FAA's initial and revised forecasts. [13] The FAA noted that the agency hired over 1,400 new air traffic controller trainees and employed 14,874 nationwide exceeding 2007's target. Trainees normally take three to five years to complete their training. [14]
In August 2007,a month before departing the FAA,Blakey described the current National Airspace System saying,"We are at a breaking point," [7] and called for deployment of the Next Generation Air Transportation System,in order to improve air traffic capacity. The new system was to be funded by a controversial new FAA funding structure based on user fees,but in 2007 Congress instead opted to fund the program by increasing the tax on general-aviation jet fuel. [15]
She became president and Chief Executive Officer of the industry trade association,Aerospace Industries Association,on Nov. 12,2007. [2] [16] Her move to the new role was criticized at the time by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington,the Project On Government Oversight,and by Rep. Henry Waxman of the opposition Democratic Party,on the grounds that the AIA represents firms that the FAA oversaw and awarded contracts to during her five-year tenure. [17] Blakey said at the time that she had not taken a direct role in any regulatory action that affected the AIA,which represents aircraft manufacturers and defense contractors,and that she was "taken aback and a little appalled,frankly" at the issues being raised. [17]
During Congressional testimony February 11,2009,NATCA President Pat Forrey testified that 3,356 controllers left the active work force in the two years after the work rules were imposed by Blakey,and "Since the implementation of the imposed work rules,the FAA lost more than 46,000 years of air traffic control experience through retirements alone. Nearly one third (27 percent) of air traffic controllers in the FAA have less than five years experience,and 40 air traffic control facilities have more than half of its workforce composed of individuals with less than five years experience." [18]
