The blame for the current shortage of air traffic controllers, which was previously attributed to the Trump administration, has been redirected towards the Biden administration, according to recent revelations.
It appears that the root of the problem can be traced back to policy changes implemented by former President Joe Biden and former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation under the Trump administration, recently shed light on the issue during an interview on the New York Post's "Pod Force One" podcast. He revealed that in 2023, the Biden administration altered the top testing threshold for applicants aspiring to join the academy that trains air traffic controllers.
Duffy explained to host Miranda Devine that the pre-Biden system classified candidates who scored 85 percent on the Air Traffic Skills Assessment as "best qualified." However, under Biden's administration, the bar was lowered, and anyone who scored above 80 percent was placed in a new "well qualified" category.
"They lowered the standard from 85 percent to 80 percent to be best qualified to get these young people into the academy," Duffy told Devine.
The consequences of this change were significant. Duffy noted that the academy experienced a substantial dropout rate of over 30 percent, as many of the students were unable to meet the demands of the work.
The Biden administration's grading system placed applicants who scored above 80 percent in the "well-qualified" category, those who scored between 70-79.9 percent in the "qualified" category, and those who scored below 70 percent were "not referred."
According to Duffy, Biden and Buttigieg's policy effectively grouped less qualified applicants with more qualified ones, creating a larger category with the aim of admitting more students into the academy. However, this strategy backfired, as evidenced by the increased dropout rate.
As reported by the Western Journal, the Federal Aviation Administration's website states that the academy in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, takes several months to complete. The timing suggests that the impact of Biden's decision became apparent just as President Donald Trump returned to office, which could explain the current shortage of air traffic controllers.
This theory contradicts the left's narrative that Trump's federal cuts are responsible for the shortage.
The Transportation secretary also highlighted the changes now being implemented to rectify this system. The new categories are: "best qualified" for those who score 90 percent or higher, "well-qualified" for applicants who score between 85 and 89 percent, "qualified" for those who score between 70 and 84 percent, and "not referred" for those who score below 70 percent.
Earlier this year, Buttigieg defended the changes, stating, "We did not change the rigorous standard for becoming a certified air traffic controller." He added, "Those claiming otherwise are mistaken or lying. We did increase funding and training, and grew the ATC workforce after years of declining numbers, including under Trump."
However, considering the facts presented, it is clear that the changes implemented by Biden and Buttigieg did lower the standards. The analogy of two students, one scoring 100 and the other 80, both receiving an A grade, aptly illustrates the issue. Despite the significant difference in their scores, they are both considered A students. The problem with this approach is evident.
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