Congress, mayors seek assurances on contract towers  Uncertainty
drives calls for DOT to commit  May 2, 2013   Also, some 70
mayors reacted to the lingering uncertainty by releasing a
letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and FAA
Administrator Michael Huerta, stressing the impact of tower
closings on jobs and local economies. The towers are scheduled
to close after June 15.  AOPA supports the position of Sens.
Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Richard Blumenthal, authors of the
tower-support letter signed by 41 senators, that Congress’s
intent, when providing $253 million in FAA funding authority for
fiscal year 2013, was to avoid air traffic controller
furloughs—and to prevent the contract tower closings. The
Department of Transportation, however, has not disclosed its
plans. A department spokesman told Politico that officials were
“evaluating” the legislation’s details.  The senators’ letter
urges LaHood and Huerta, “to ensure that in addition to ending
furloughs for 47,000 FAA employees, the agency also