A4A, ALPA Urge Congress to Focus Customs and Immigration Resources on U.S. Gateways
Airlines for America (A4A) and the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) Monday urged Congress to “focus its limited Customs and Border Protection (CBP) resources on better serving U.S. gateway airports rather than creating a new pay-to-play scheme that diverts…
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funds overseas and puts U.S. jobs at risk.” In a joint letter to the Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee, the groups objected to a Homeland Security Department (DHS) spending proposal, which would allow foreign governments to pay for pre-clearance facilities at international airports, regardless of whether they are served by U.S. airlines and “without consideration to where the greatest need for CBP staffing exists.” If CPB re-allocates its “already scarce resources” to overseas facilities bankrolled by foreign governments, “our airlines and our customers would be disadvantaged in this classic ‘pay-to-play’ scenario,” said A4A CEO Nicholas Calio. “This kind of policy choice clearly undermines the ability of U.S. carriers to compete in the global marketplace and puts American jobs at risk.” Said ALPA President Lee Moak: “The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our top priority and we believe having private or third parties fund a government function may have significant unintended consequences for national security as well as the competitiveness of the U.S. airline industry.” In their letter to the committee, A4A and ALPA said that nothing in the proposed DHS spending plan stipulates that these agreements be vetted for national-security risks.