{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://doggett.house.gov/media/press-releases/more-unacceptable-faa-delays", "More Unacceptable FAA Delays", "2024-12-09", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "House", "TX", "Lloyd Doggett", "D000399", "doggett.house.gov", "doggett", "https://doggett.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C.\u2014Today, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) released the following statement:\n\n\u201cYesterday, the FAA implemented another ground delay at Austin Bergstrom-International Airport (ABIA) on short notice, which affected numerous flights. Inbound flights on Sunday were delayed as much as two and a half hours. Travelers returning home and Central Texans meeting incoming passengers at the airport can expect more FAA-mandated delays during this busy holiday season. Best to check ahead as much as possible.\n\n\u201cAs a frequent traveler, while I am concerned about the inconvenience caused by such persistent delays, I am even more concerned about the traveling public\u2019s safety at an airport that has experienced six near-catastrophes in the past two years.\n\n\u201cOver a year ago, the FAA Administrator sat in my Washington office and stated that Austin\u2019s understaffing of air traffic controllers was, \u2018as bad as it gets.\u2019 Yet as I told the Administrator today, despite my continued efforts to seek action and answers, our situation is worse. The number of air traffic controllers at the AUS control tower has decreased, not increased, as the tower struggles to keep staffing at even half the level recommended by the FAA.\n\n\u201cUntil it prioritizes action to expand Austin\u2019s controlled airspace and staff our understaffed and overworked airport control tower with an adequate number of air traffic controllers, the FAA continues to expose ABIA travelers to an inadequate margin of safety. Reports of near-catastrophic incidents like the small Cessna plane coming within 350 feet of a packed American Airlines flight in October have happened too often. I continue urging the FAA to act before lives are lost.\u201d\n\nBackground on near catastrophes at ABIA:", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:13:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://doggett.house.gov/media/press-releases/more-unacceptable-faa-delays"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3738260604441166, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}