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Report: FAA inspectors not keeping up with airlines

By wire services
Published June 9, 2005

WASHINGTON - Safety inspectors are not keeping up with potential risks posed by airlines trying to save money, according to a Transportation Department report issued Wednesday.

The problem could worsen because the Federal Aviation Administration may have fewer inspectors due to budget cuts next year, the department's inspector general said.

The FAA defended its safety record and oversight during a period when low-cost carriers expanded and traditional airlines looked for ways to cut costs.

Airlines worked to get planes in and out of airports more quickly and contracted out maintenance operations, but FAA inspectors "did not respond to industry changes in a timely and consistent manner," the report said.

The report said it was critical that the FAA stay on top of industry changes because the agency may not have enough inspectors due to the budget cuts.

The agency is expected to lose about 300 aviation safety inspectors this year and has plans to replace only one-third of them, the report said.

WASHINGTON - An internal investigation found no evidence that acting Food and Drug Administration head Lester Crawford had an extramarital affair with an agency employee or acted inappropriately because of such a relationship.

However, the inquiry by the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general cited inconsistencies in the way the woman was promoted and assistance Crawford may have given her. The woman's identity was not disclosed.

Crawford's nomination to head the FDA on a permanent basis has been held up pending completion of the investigation, which was requested by Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.

Enzi released the findings Wednesday and said they cleared the way for a confirmation vote.

WASHINGTON - Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean on Wednesday was forced to defend his recent criticism of Republicans, including his claim that they are "pretty much a white, Christian party."

Dean - who is also a white Christian - said the GOP is too narrow in its scope and the Democratic Party is far more diverse.

On Monday, Dean told a forum of journalists and minority leaders Monday that Republicans are "not very friendly to different kinds of people, they are a pretty monolithic party. ... It's pretty much a white, Christian party."

Questioned on that on NBC's Today show Wednesday, Dean said, "Unfortunately, by and large it is. And they have the agenda of the conservative Christians."

On the Fox News show, Fox & Friends GOP party chairman Ken Mehlman said: "A lot of folks who attended my Bar Mitzvah would be surprised" he heads a Christian party.

Last weekend, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., and 2004 vice presidential candidate John Edwards criticized Dean for his recent remarks, saying he doesn't speak for them.

WASHINGTON - The Army appears likely to fall short of its full-year recruiting goal for the first time since 1999, raising longer-term questions about a military embroiled in its first protracted wars since switching from the draft to a volunteer force 32 years ago.

Many young people and their parents have grown more wary of Army service because of the likelihood of being dispatched on combat tours to Iraq or Afghanistan, opinion polls show.

Officials said Wednesday that although the Army will not release its numbers until Friday, it fell about 25 percent short of its target of signing up 6,700 recruits in May.

The Army also missed its monthly targets in April, March and February. Before February, the last time the Army had missed a monthly recruiting goal was May 2000.

[Last modified June 9, 2005, 01:18:46]