The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has no plans to request congressional removal of the FAA prohibition on the certification of new foreign repair stations, Administrator John Pistole told ARSA. In a January 4 reply to ARSA’s November 2011 letter detailing the ban’s negative consequences for the aviation industry, Pistole ignores the economic impact of TSA’s inaction and reiterates the agency’s earlier response that it won’t finalize repair station security rules until at least the fourth quarter of 2012. The TSA’s failure to complete the regulation is troubling given the detrimental impact the delay has imposed upon industry and the fact that it is more than eight years overdue in producing this congressionally mandated rule. The agency’s response indicates that it is content with the delay and in no hurry to fulfill its duty. Though Pistole stated that the TSA will not urge lawmakers to permit the FAA to once again certificate new foreign repair stations, he did note that the agency would cooperate if Congress decided to do so. Pistole’s response underscores the need for continued pressure urging Congress to stop penalizing industry for the inaction of a government agency.
House Committee Seeking Stories Highlighting Impact of Foreign Repair Station Ban
The House Homeland Security Committee is requesting letters from U.S. companies detrimentally impacted by the ban on FAA certification of new foreign repairs stations.
As part of its “Lift the Ban” campaign, ARSA’s legislative team continues to meet with congressional leaders regarding TSA’s failure to finalize repair station security rules and the subsequent FAA foreign repair station certification moratorium. The “Lift the Ban” survey results were useful in providing a snapshot of the ban’s effect on the aviation maintenance industry; however, the committee is looking for more specifics including job loss numbers, lost revenues, and other information detailing the economic impact the ban is having on U.S. companies.
