Bill should prohibit any Muslim from training at US flight schools
Not necessary if Obama were not trying to import as many muslim terrorists into the US as possible. B http://www.hstoday.us/single-article/house-committee-approves-bill-to-keep-libyans-from-training-at-us-flight-schools/4128e1dd32228088cfbac89997cd5a6d.html House Committee Approves Bill to Keep Libyans from Training at US Flight Schools By: Amanda Vicinanzo, Contributing Editor 09/16/2014 (11:52am) A bill to stop the Obama administration from lifting a 30-year prohibition on Libyans coming to the United States to attend flight school, work in aviation maintenance or flight operations or to study or seek training in nuclear science was approved by the House Committee on the Judiciary. Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va), and Oversight and Government Reform National Security Subcommittee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced the Protecting the Homeland Act <http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113hr5401ih/pdf/BILLS-113hr5401ih.pdf> (HR 5410) after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in July approved a final regulation to lift the longstanding ban <http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=201404&RIN=1653-AA69> despite the ongoing turmoil in Libya. “Lifting this longstanding ban is not in the best interest of the American people and needlessly places our country at risk,” Goodlatte said. “I am pleased that the House Judiciary Committee approved the Protecting the Homeland Act to stop President Obama from implementing this foolish and dangerous plan so that we protect Americans and our national security from threats in Libya.” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of Defense and Department of State, decided to rescind the restrictions that deny nonimmigrant status and benefits to any Libyan national or other foreign national acting on behalf of a Libyan entity who is engaging in aviation maintenance, flight operations or nuclear-related studies or training because “most of the restrictions and sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Nations toward Libya have been lifted.” The ban first emerged in 1983 amidst strained tension between the US and Libya after Muammar Qaddafi came to power and Libya became a hotbed for terrorist activity and training. Later in the decade, Libyans spearheaded the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland and were involved in the bombing of a French airliner. Although the Obama administration claims the relationship between the US and Libya has since “normalized,” rendering the prohibition irrelevant, the decision to lift the ban emerges just two years after the tragic terrorist attacks in the Libyan city of Benghazi that left four Americans dead. “The United States Government and the Government of Libya have normalized their relationship and most of the restrictions and sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Nations toward Libya have been lifted,” stated the final amendment of the ban released by OMB <http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=201404&RIN=1653-AA69>. “Therefore, DHS, after consultation with the Department of State and the Department of Defense, is considering rescinding the restrictions that deny nonimmigrant status and benefits to a specific group of Libyan nationals.” In addition to the terrorist attack on the US consulate in Benghazi two years ago, this summer American personnel working at the US embassy in Libya were evacuated due to heavy militia violence in the capitol, Tripoli. A UN envoy recently warned that deepening political division and rapidly deteriorating security have brought Libya “closer to the brink of protracted conflict and political strife.” “The Obama administration continues to turn a blind eye to the current situation in Libya, Chaffetz said. “The country is far from normal and remains vulnerable to unchecked terrorist activity. Lifting a decades-old security ban on a country challenged by instability threatens the safety of both countries. The Protecting the Homeland Act will stop the Administration from carelessly lifting this ban. I encourage my colleagues in the House and Senate to swiftly pass this legislation.” The Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA), which represents more than 51,000 pilots who fly for 31 airlines in the US and Canada, sent a letter to Goodlatte in which the group strongly opposed the lifting of the prohibition and expressing concern regarding the dangerous conditions in Libya <http://judiciary.house.gov/_cache/files/b1429197-d538-4157-be0c-92005ce9c030/letter-to-house-judiciary---libyan-pilot-training.pdf>. In the letter, Captain Lee Moak, a former president of ALPA, emphasized that Libya continues to be a very dangerous region. He noted that the Federal Aviation Administration currently prohibits US airlines and commercial operators from entering Libyan airspace. Given the current political instability in Libya and the transitory nature of the Libyan government, Moak urged the committee to support HR 5401, stating, “safety and security concerns must never be set aside as a means to build diplomatic ties.” As *Homeland Security Today* reported earlier this year <http://www.hstoday.us/briefings/daily-news-analysis/single-article/lawmakers-demand-dhs-come-clean-on-libyan-immigration-policy-reversal/0d35862409c07089f94161484b9a444e.html>, the four lawmakers sent a letter to DHS in November 13, 2013, as well as a follow-up letter, raising concerns about the administration’s proposed policy, but “to date DHS has failed to respond and has moved forward with this proposed policy without disclosing information about it to Congress.” “Since November 25, 2013, House Judiciary Committee staff has contacted DHS over half a dozen times to determine the status of our inquiry,” and, “According to [a DHS memo], you expect ‘the Department to respond to Congress in a direct, courteous and timely manner’ … Yet the letter we sent to DHS remains unanswered,” the lawmakers said in the letter to the DHS secretary. In the absence of further action, the regulation lifting the ban will take effect once signed by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. “The chief responsibility of government is the security of its people, and as those entrusted to govern, we must be vigilant in fulfilling this duty,” Gowdy said. “Yet, the administration has not been clear as to why repealing this longstanding rule now, while the situation in Libya is more uncertain and dangerous, will benefit our national security. I am pleased the committee passed our bill, the Protecting the Homeland Act, to stop this policy reversal.” __._,_.___ ------------------------------ Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected]> ------------------------------ Visit Your Group <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmZ3UxZmMyBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0MTA5NzUwMTU-> [image: Yahoo! 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