Legislation Addresses Weaknesses in Current Passenger Pre-Screening System
CONTACT: Caleb Tiller, +1 703-684-0836, ext. 138
Nicole Hayes, +1 703-684-0836, ext. 133
Washington, DC (May 20, 2008) -- The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) today congratulated the Homeland Security Committee for sending H.R. 4179 – the Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely or FAST Redress Act of 2007 to the full U.S. House of Representatives for consideration. This legislation would take significant steps towards alleviating the burden of those commercial aviation passengers who are wrongly placed on terrorist watch lists.
Bill Connors, NBTA Executive Director and COO, said: “Forty percent of respondents to a recent NBTA survey indicated that travelers in their companies are repeatedly subjected to secondary screening at airports, and many of these travelers who have sought redress are still awaiting clearance. This legislation will ensure that travelers have a quick and effective mechanism to resolve watch list ‘hits’ that not only inconvenience them, but also limit productivity.”
The FAST Redress Act sets up a dedicated office within Department of Homeland Security to coordinate and streamline the process of appeal for those individuals who believe they have been wrongfully placed on a government watch list and consequently remanded to secondary screening or denied boarding. This office would then create and share with airlines a “Cleared List” of individuals who have gone through the redress process.
“The Fast Redress Act has the potential to provide relief to countless travelers and other individuals who are misidentified as a threat when screened against the terrorist watch list,” stated Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (NY-11), who introduced the legislation. “I am delighted that it is being well received by my colleagues in Congress and the business travel community.”
“NBTA is proud to have supported the FAST Redress Act since its introduction, and we are grateful to the Committee for voting to send it to the House,” said Connors. “This legislation will ensure that travelers who voluntarily give information to the government to resolve watch list problems are not wrongly misidentified again. We look forward to its continued quick movement through Congress and eventual enactment.”
The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is the world’s premier business travel organization. U.S.-based NBTA and its regional subsidiaries – NBTA Asia Pacific, NBTA Canada and NBTA Mexico – serve more than 3,200 members in 30 nations around the globe. NBTA has 41 U.S. Chapters with more than 5,000 members. NBTA members are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers, who collectively manage and direct more than US$170 billion of global business travel expenditures annually. The association provides industry-leading networking, education & professional development, research, news & information, and advocacy. For more information, visit www.nbta.org.
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