A bill introduced in the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security will finally address the gaping hole in America's air travel security posed by foreign aircraft repair stations.

H.R. 1981, introduced by Reps. Jim Langevin, Bennie Thompson and Sheila Jackson Lee would require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to stop ignoring a two-and-a-half year old Congressional mandate to issue and enforce security rules for third-party repair facilities that work on U.S. aircraft. Unlike conditions at domestic repair stations, foreign repair stations, for example, do not require secured, limited-access areas or criminal background checks.

Read letter sent to all TWU ATD Localss (pdf)
Read H. R. 1981 (pdf)

Sample Letter for Campaign

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

A bill introduced in the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security will finally address the gaping hole in America's air travel security posed by foreign aircraft repair stations. As a member of the Transport Workers Union who works in the industry, this is very important to me.

H.R. 1981, introduced by Reps. Jim Langevin, Bennie Thompson and Sheila Jackson Lee would require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to stop ignoring a two-and-a-half year old Congressional mandate to issue and enforce security rules for third-party repair facilities that work on U.S. aircraft. Unlike conditions at domestic repair stations, foreign repair stations, for example, do not require secured, limited-access areas or criminal background checks.

The attacks of September 11 remind us of how vulnerable we are to enemy attack through porous or non-existent security by third-party maintenance. Yet, the same desire to cut costs by cutting corners that has driven outsourcing to dramatic levels, has led large portions of the industry to fight the added expense of requiring foreign stations to meet U.S. standards in either safety or security.

To address this problem Congress included a provision (Section 611) in the FAA Reauthorization Act (Vision 100) in 2003 to require the TSA, in consultation with the FAA, to issue final regulations governing domestic and foreign third-party aircraft repair stations. These regulations were due in August 2004, 180 days after enactment. But the TSA and FAA have blatantly ignored this rule and have not even begun action of a rule.

The TSA was also required, pursuant to Section 611, to conduct security audits of foreign stations. Those audits were supposed to be completed 18 months after the security rules were finalized. But since there has been no action on the regulations, there have been no audits. Despite the obvious lessons of 9/11, nothing has been done to plug the security loopholes despite explicit Congressional directives.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
April 26, 2007