Press Releases

Press Releases

June 4, 2009

Rep. Dent helps pass TSA authorization, including provision to keep terror suspects off airplanes

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent today helped lead passage of the first Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Authorization Act, H.R. 2200, which includes a provision that requires Guantanamo detainees be placed on the No Fly List, unless the President certifies in writing that the terrorist suspect poses no threat. Congressman Dent, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security, managed the legislation on the House floor and was a proponent of the Guantanamo Bay amendment.

“As I have stated over the last six months, I oppose the anticipated closure of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and the transfer of these dangerous terrorist suspects onto American soil.” Congressman Dent said. “I believe it is absolutely imperative that we employ stringent common sense measures to keep our nation safe, including the addition of terror suspects to our national No Fly List.

“The Administration’s January 2010 deadline to shut down Guantanamo is only months away and Congress has not been presented with a comprehensive plan that will ensure the safety of our families and communities,” Congressman Dent said. “The inclusion of this No Fly List provision in the TSA authorization bill – legislation crafted to institute tools to secure and refine our nation’s transportation air and surface systems – will at the very least ensure that detainees currently being held in Cuba will not be permitted to board a commercial airliner.”

The TSA bill authorizes $15.7 billion for the TSA over the next two fiscal years, providing the necessary resources to enhance our air and surface transportation systems. The measure makes a number of policy changes related to cargo and passenger screening, as well as flight crew training. Both the Guantanamo Bay Amendment and the overall reauthorization legislation passed by significant bipartisan margins.

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