Aviation Subcommittee says “No” to LASP
Saturday, March 14th, 2009On March 10, Leaders of the House aviation subcommittee told the TSA they are unconvinced that the proposed Large Aircraft Security Program is necessary. Some committee members stated that the proposal goes too far by attempting to establish airline-style security for general aviation. Others said the TSA had failed to convince them that GA even represents a terrorist threat.
Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), chairman of the aviation subcommittee, said “I believe this proposed rule is a solution in search of a problem and we will be monitoring it very closely. If the rule is formalized in its current state, we will seek legislative action.”
Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) had this to say: “One of the reasons I ran for public office was that I have always fought against stupid rules. This is a prime example of a stupid rule. Simply put, the threat does not warrant this level of regulation.”
More details are available here: AOPA Online
In related news, On Monday U.S. Rep Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, asked the TSA to delay the implementation LASP. In written comments Thompson told the TSA that several critical elements of its plan “appear to be problematic, infeasible, or overly burdensome to industry.” He has requested the delay to allow the new TSA leadership a chance to review the NPRM and discuss it with Congress and industry stakeholders.
More details available here: AvWeb