July 11, 2003   DOT IG DOCUMENTS ABUSE OF FEDERAL RESOURCES   WASHINGTON - Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said Friday a report detailing the Federal Aviation Administration's involvement in the search for Democratic lawmakers boycotting a controversial redistricting vote in the Texas House of Representatives clearly shows a misuse of federal resources and the need for tighter controls on information about private planes in flight. The Department of Transportation Inspector General's Office, which released its report late Friday, documents that a member of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's staff called the FAA to obtain information about the location of a plane believed to be carrying the Democratic legislators. DeLay's office was, in short order, provided with both the current location of the plane and information about the plane's previous flights. "This report leaves no doubt that the FAA was used to search for a private plane to pursue a partisan political end," Lieberman said. "In this highly security-intense environment, where it is very unlikely an ordinary citizen could get this type access and information so quickly from FAA, this strikes me as a clear abuse of power and federal government resources and one that should never happen again." Although some of the information Delay obtained may have been available through commercial services, there is no reason to believe that ordinary members of the public would have been given this information had they called FAA to request it, let alone gotten it so quickly. Lieberman requested the DOT investigation May 27, 2003. At that time, he also asked the White House to produce a list of its contacts with federal agencies that may have been involved in locating the plane. Previously, he had asked the Department of Homeland Security to investigate the misuse of DHS employees in tracking the Texas Democrats. Lieberman has requested that the DHS Inspector General's office reopen its investigation into the matter because its first effort failed to answer key questions. The DOT IG's report further revealed the absence of proper controls on federal data about individual airplane flights. The report said greater controls are needed on information provided by the FAA to law enforcement and other government entities. And the report raised questions about whether information about the location of private planes that is now public should remain public. "This is sensitive information that could be abused by terrorists and other criminals," Lieberman said. "We need to reconsider whether it should be so readily available. I am pleased that, in response to the DOT IG's investigation, the FAA is moving to review its policies regarding the availability of this information."   ###   Printable Version   Related File(s)   DOT IG Report (1.9 MBs) « previous Press Release next Press Release »   1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 July 2003 Press Releases   July 31 - Lieberman Presses for Administration Leadership, Accountability Pursues Declassification of 27 Redacted Pages   July 30 - Government Privacy Protections Fall Short   July 29 - White House Creating Impression it Has Something to Hide   July 28 - Lieberman Takes President, Fellow Democrats to Task on Security, Foreign Policy   July 25 - Dodd, Lieberman Announce $1 Million for Fire Fighters   July 24 - Lieberman Seeks Explanation for "Clear Evidence" of Use of Arbitrary Quotas in Competing Federal Jobs   July 24 - Did Bush Administration do Everything that Could Have Been Done?   July 24 - First Responders Need Additional Resources   July 24 - Lieberman Laments Lack of Homeland Security Resources   July 23 - DLC/PPI: More Evidence of Poor Homeland Security Record   July 16 - Lieberman Challenges Administration Refusal to Acknowledge Security Vulnerabilities   July 11 current Press Release   July 10 - Lieberman Asks Homeland Security IG to Reopen Texas Probe Into Abuse of Federal Authority, First Report Abdicated Key Responsibility   July 9 - Lieberman Warns of Too Little Action on Transportation Security   July 8 - Lieberman: 9-11 Panel Can't do Its Work Without White House Help   July 8 - Lieberman Responds to Bio Terror Report   July 2 - Lieberman Seeks Transparency on Interior's Plans for Highways Through Pristine Public Lands   July 1 - U.S. Intelligence Burdened by Same Handicaps That Failed the Nation on 9/11
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