The Moran Amendment which would have saved many of the contract towers from closure (including Janesville) had 26 co-sponsors and many more Senators promising to back it. Harry Reid refused to allow the Amendment to come to the floor for vote.

Realist: I agree: spending should be lowered in this country...but not from programs that involve safety. From present to September 29, 2013 the Contract Towers were asking for $50 Million out of the entire FAA Budget to continue to run. In the grand scheme of things, $50 Million is peanuts! Here is the deal: They chose to cut this program. Cuts could have been easily made to lavish spending on parties, travel, schools, etc etc etc. To all those who believe that the tower should be cut from the federal budget and when there is a news story on the front page of the Gazette which shows Aircraft wreckage at the airport -please make sure you comment on that as well.

Badgerboy: No. 75% of the contract towers are closing. 5% of the FAA towers will close. The remaining 25% of contract towers will be run by their current companies. The other 95% of the FAA Towers will be remain under the FAA.

@lovemycountry

FYI:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/88859...

what is get from tjis article and the comments is that most of the activity is on the weekends. I get it there are alot of "hobby" pilots that fly in and eat. Times are tough. We need to cut unnecessary costs. If you want to fly in for your hobby or business, pay for the tower.

State planes fly Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped students in and out of Janesville on weekends ??

"With the existing proposal, 75 percent of the towers considered for closure are contract towers, while only 5 percent are FAA towers, he said."

That adds up to 80% of the towers considered for closure; who controls the remaining 20%?

WWRD - I can't stand people who use the line "Why should my tax dollars support these people, Tax payers don't support my fly fishing hobby", or anything similar to this. Do you really think your tax dollars only go to what you want them to go to? Do you think it should be this way? I mean how clueless can you be...

I'm so sick of hearing "if they want to play.. then pay" PULL YOUR HEAD OUT! First of all, they do pay for use of the airport. Second of all, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "our tax dollars" since the corporations around here that have jets at the airport pay more in taxes than you could in a lot of lifetimes. Not to mention they employ people that also pay taxes. They sell goods that the state collects tax on. They buy a hell of a lot of things that they pay tax on. Their property taxes alone would probably make most of us want to overthrow the government. What they add to the tax base is not even comparable to your fishing hobby. These companies are extremely valuable to our communities. Doing things that make it more difficult or expensive to do business here is what leads to them leaving. "Your" tax dollars are not even on the same planet as what these companies pay. They have just as much say in how tax dollars are spent as anyone that pays taxes, the difference is if you decide it's in your best interest to move away and pay taxes somewhere else, it doesn't make a difference to anyone. Get a clue!

I have heard many people, such as WWRD, say why should I pay for the airport? (or in this case the control tower) I don't use it! Your point is valid however; I do not use 99 percent of the parks in Janesville, but my tax money still funds them. I do not go to the Janesville Ice Arena, but my tax money helped fund it. (I think that is correct) I do believe that tax money does help support your fly-fishing hobby as well. State taxes, along with DNR funds raised by license sales, help keep trout waters clean and open for fisherman. (and I am sure there are other things that my taxes pay for which I have no interest in.) We are talking about safety here. What do you think it will cost the tax payer when a collision happens at the airport? EPA clean up due to fuel spills, ambulatory and fire services, overtime of workers and the insurance costs which we all will have to pick up in some way. Let's consider the energy bill at the airport for a moment as well. Right now, the controllers monitor when runway and taxiway lights, approach lights and other lighting on the airport which need to be turned on and off. Without us, the lighting will be in pilot control. (ALL the lights come on when the pilot engages them in that way- and they stay on for 15 minutes after they are engaged.) The controller simply turns switches on and off. (We are very energy conscious there - believe me) I can go on and on but I think I have made my point.

WWRD - She should be punished severely because she is so sucessful and earning so much money. We should just take it because she has it and we want it right? Are you with me? I don't want to work anymore and just want to get on the Obama plan so lets just take it! WWRD - I'm guessing you make more than I do so please send me a check for half of what you make a year so its fair. Sound good to you? It does to me! After all you make more then me right, and that must mean only one thing, you are cheating/stealing to get more then me?

hiii98: Thank you for the kind words. We seriously take the safety of all individuals to heart out there.

John Wicket: You make a very strong and valid point.

Bucky: 30-50 operations per hour during peak times. The peak times are on weekends mostly between 8 am and 1 pm. Some days there are only 50 operations due to bad weather, something that can not be controlled. It is during those peak times that accidents/mid-airs can and most likely will occur if the control tower is closed.

Im confused!! Why dont we have the great Diane Hendricks fund it.. She made a cool billion this year because of the bad economy. Her and Paul Ryan can rub elbows together in the tower. Yes its a sad thing to see it close, but im for saving money and if this is what we have to do so be it. This will only effect about 10% of us. Its the wealthy that will feel it.. if they want to play.. then pay. Why should my tax dollars support these people, Tax payers dont support my fly fishing hobby.. with a tax funded fishing report.. I am tired of the people saying this is Obama! Grow up .. this is both parties fault. So Diane step up to the plate and get your name in the spot light agian and pay the FAA to run the tower

Presidents travel, get over it. They have since the first one and will continue to do so after Obama, and they all cost the tax payer money.
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he doesn't line item what he wants cut, These are across the board cuts because as usual politicians are too busy politiking to actually get anything productive done. That goes for both sides. The sooner you realize that, the sooner things can change.
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and the NIH give has a budget for grants that are given out every year. If you want some of that money, write a grant proposal and see if you can get some. Or if you don't like where their committee gives the money too, get on the board and make some changes.

The closure of "more than 200 air traffic control towers..." is political and has nothing to do with the sequester. Meaningless projects like the train in Milwaukee will still be funded.
There will come a point at which the public cries BS and the political pendulum will swing.

The sequester will not slow down the Obama personal travel junkets all on the taxpayer dime. Only just under three more years to go. How much more taxpayer money can that family spend on themselves while the rest of us are to cut back?
http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2013/01...

Obama is going out of his way to make the cuts hurt. In the meantime, the National Institute of Health has awarded $1.5 million to study biological and social factors for why three-quarters of lesbians are obese and why gay males are not. I'm not making this up.

"as a recreational pilot i always felt safe at the janesville airport"

Start writing checks to Obama if you want it opened.

"last year handled about 57,000 operations, with an operation being defined as a takeoff or a landing." If you do the math that is 156 operations per day or 6.5 operations per hour or 1 takeoff or landing every 10 minutes, every hour day and night. Sorry but I don't buy the math. This sounds like Midwest Air Traffic Control Service is trying to justify keeping their contract. Even though the numbers don't justify keeping them.

The President doesn't have the ability to determine the cuts. Under the legislation passed by Congress, each program must be cut. Because the Republican refused to negotiate a "Grand Deal" non-targeted cuts will continue.

this would be a very bad thing, the janesville airport is busy and nice, this would significantly cause problems. it would be like removing a stop light and stop signs from milton avenue and expecting the cars to decide who turn it is, this will result in accidents and or deaths. as a recreational pilot i always felt safe at the janesville airport

Would a plane load of U - 235 (unwashed) destined for Shine medical supply be considered a possible hazard? What is going to happen to our city's development monies that were put into Shine and the airport development? Why are city officials leaving? What is in the handwriting on the wall that the average homeowner can't see? Is the "rats on a ship" analogy appropriate to this situation? Will journalists investigate and report more on this story?

Obama’s hissy fit continues, as he cuts funding for meaningful activities while continuing or increasing funding for things we could do nicely without. So, how many six-figure people do we need employed at the WH, for instance? How many staffers does the President’s wife need (hint, the real answer is “ZERO”) at nearly $2M per year? He doesn’t have to look nearly as far as Wisconsin to start saving money, but don’t hold your breath.