ALL MEMBERS - After two full weeks of nonstop, full-press preparatory work on Capitol Hill by your Government Affairs Team, led by our lead counsel, and bested by your strong grassroots support, our allies in the Senate, Senators Bunning and Burns, last week introduced a new amendment to the Senate Intelligence bill to improve the FFDO program. Our friends in the House have done the same. The House is on the verge of considering new, limited legislation to improve the FFDO program.
Our allies in Congress understand this legislation falls far short of what is needed to make the Federal Flight Deck Officer program as robust as it ultimately needs to be to protect against future terror attacks, but with time limited, strong opposition, and our efforts at maximum to achieve a legislative fix, we and our congressional allies, are asking your support for this legislation as a first step to more significant improvement.
Make no mistake: APSA has no intention of relaxing our efforts to enact the elements of the Cockpit Technical Corrections Act as we meet with Congress in the next days, weeks and months. But it is important we make improvements where we can as we work toward more significant ones -- the terrorist clock is ticking! We also note there are significant elements to this House amendment that may substantially improve the FFDO program in that it contemplates transferring the program to the Justice Department.
Congressman Virgil Goode (R-VA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) have filed an amendment to:
1. Eliminate lock boxes for Federal Flight Deck Officers
2. Provide standard FFDO credentials
3. Require FFDO's on international flights
4. Require the FBI consider taking over the program.
5. Provide an appeals process for disqualified pilots.
The amendment is being offered to the Intelligence Reorganization Bill, HR 10, and there are five House members that are key to get this Amendment offered in the House.
Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) 202-225-0600,
Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), 202-225-4000, and
Congressman David Dreier (R-CA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee, 202-225-9191
need to be contacted immediately to urge a vote on the Goode-Paul Amendment to correct problems with the Federal Flight Deck Officers program.
It is critical you call these three offices on Wednesday. |
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FACTS:
1. Security is still completely porous. Congressman Mica, reviewing a classified TSA report last week, said screening failure rates were "absolutely horrendous," confirming FAA inspectors' testimony. There is ample evidence terrorists will get onboard airliners with weapons. Two pilots were attacked by a passenger with an axe just this week.
2. The government is spending $620 million per year to protect only 5% of our flights with air marshals. It would cost only $25 million per year to protect 95% of our flights with trained pilots. How can anyone argue against 90% more protection for 95% less money?!
3. In almost two years, TSA has cross-trained only 3% of airline pilots as federal officers to protect us from terrorist hijackings. If Al-Qaeda attacks tomorrow, 9 out of 10 targeted flights will be completely defenseless.
4. TSA has discouraged and disqualified tens of thousands of volunteers with psychiatric tests and by making them carry weapons in steel gun safes. Among those rejected from the program are former cops, federal agents and firearms instructors. Volunteers have all but disappeared.
The FFDO program must be streamlined, standardized and volunteers encouraged to apply to protect our skies.
5. When FBI agents pleaded that arab men were training to fly but not land, these frontline experts were ignored by bureaucrats. Now, professional airline pilots across the country are screaming to be heard on how critical this legislation is to prevent another attack, and our pleas are falling on deaf ears. The next attack will be successful if this bill doesn't pass.
6. This legislation does nothing more than mandate the FFDO program be run according to standard practice and volunteers encouraged to apply.
7. Our crews have been denied threat information, behavioral assessment training and the tools to protect our passengers.
8. Money must be appropriated to expand the FFDO program to protect the vast majority of our flights.
Also, please contact Congressmen
Virgil Goode 202- 225-4711
Ron Paul, 202-225-2831 and
Joe Wilson, 202-225-2452, and
Senators:
Jim Bunning, 202-224-4343
Conrad Burns, 202-224-2644 and
Barbara Boxer, 202-224-3553,
to thank them for their support. These 'Thank You' calls are critical to moving forward! |
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Keep the Faith! Keep the momentum! And, of course, keep those donations coming! Through sheer commitment, singular purpose and a laser focus and instant reaction on our task, we have acheived together what no pilots union has been able to accomplish and we have won EVERY SINGLE TIME!
The APSA website is daily reading at the TSA for a REASON! Let's give them a reason to read us today!
***PLEASE BE COMPLETELY PROFESSIONAL AND COURTEOUS IN ALL CONTACTS! AND DON'T FORGET TO THANK OUR CONGRESSIONAL ALLIES!
LAST: PLEASE DO NO FORWARD THIS ALERT WITHOUT A PERSONAL INTRODUCTION! SOME END RECIPIENTS MAY BE REPORTING IT AS SPAM!
David Mackett
The Airline Pilots Security Alliance
email: david_mackett@secure-skies.org web: http://www.secure-skies.org |
