AOPA President Craig Fuller was part of a congressional “roundtable” conducted by Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) Feb. 12 on the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA’s) Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP). Both lawmakers and industry leaders believe the proposed regulation, which would impose airline-like security procedures on aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds, would be harmful to general aviation and small business.
The collected legislators and industry leaders informally discussed the need for and alternatives to the TSA regulation. Rep. Graves, who sits on the House aviation subcommittee, and is a pilot and AOPA member, vowed to fight the regulation. Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kansas) said the general aviation industry was already hurting and that TSA was “steamrolling” the rule without regard to its potential impact on the industry. Reps. Tom Petri (R-Wis.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) also participated in the roundtable.
Meanwhile, AOPA’s vice president of aviation security Craig Spence participated in another roundtable Feb. 13, this one with the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Office of Advocacy. SBA is also looking into the impact of the TSA security regulation on small business.
For more information, see “ Proposed GA security reg criticized in Congress.”
