Norton Will Seek Further Action If TSA Stalls Reopening of General Aviation at Reagan
Norton Will Seek Further Action If TSA Stalls Reopening of General Aviation at Reagan
Washington, DC -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said today that we may be seeing a repeat of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) "four year stall" on reopening general aviation at Reagan National Airport, despite an announcement almost a month ago by Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Rear Admiral David Stone, that resumption of general aviation at Reagan would begin as early as within 90 days. "The defiance of Congress on fully opening Reagan National has been breath taking," Norton said, "but TSA had best remember the admonition of Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young (R-AK) at the mark-up of our bill, mandating the reopening of general aviation, that he would hold TSA officials in contempt if they again defied the congressional demand to reopen general aviation."
Norton said that "shilly-shallying, stalling, yes, and defiance" have been the way TSA has responded on general aviation to Congress all along. The Congresswoman has tried consistently since 9/11 to get general aviation restarted, just as it was restarted in New York days after the Twin Towers were taken down. Only Reagan has had cessation of general aviation service since 9/11. The Congresswoman has raised the issue at almost every TSA and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hearing, and the aviation subcommittee chair and ranking member, and the Transportation chair and ranking member have strongly supported her on reopening. Aviation subcommittee Chairman John Mica (R-FL) had a subcommittee hearing in the empty general aviation hangar at Reagan last year. He and Norton had earlier had a secure briefing, which Norton described as "a totally unconvincing Star Wars approach to security that was not related to any calculus of factors such as vulnerability and risk." She said, "Even as announced, the limitations attached to the reopening of general aviation were so unnecessary as to be mind-boggling" - among them only 12 gateway airports and armed guards on planes. The armed guards requirement is the latest indication that TSA "has lost its way in assessing how to secure our airports." Norton said that she thinks that the "costly and needless" armed guard requirement alone has created more problems than it has solved. She believes that the Transportation Committee "has had it with TSA" and that further delay is not likely to be tolerated.
http://www.norton.house.gov/issues2.cfm?id=10769