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Prison guards and airport towers don’t have to be eliminated

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder revealed Friday he has found a way to avoid furloughing thousands of federal prison guards – action the Justice Department had claimed would be necessary because of “sequester” spending cuts. Holder said he has moved $150 million from other agency accounts to fund the guards.

If Holder can do it at the Justice Department, why can’t the Federal Aviation Administration come up with a similar plan?

FAA officials, also blaming the sequester, say air traffic control towers at 149 airports throughout the country will be shut down. That means pilots will have to coordinate takeoffs and landings on their own.

That includes the tower at the Williamsport Regional Airport in Montoursville.

The action is part of President Barack Obama’s campaign to avoid any reductions in federal spending by making the sequester as painful as possible, of course.

But again, if Holder was able to keep his guards, why can’t the FAA keep airport control towers, here and everywhere else?

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