Political Quotes

“I would like to thank Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio for their hard work, and also Mr. Larsen as well. I have to confess that mentally in my mind I have a list of Republicans I wish wouldn't run for office again, but I am proud and happy to say that, Mr. Shuster, you are not on that list. I just want to congratulate you on your good work not only on this bill, but in the past on a lot of issues that affect not only the constituents in your district, but also people across this country. Thank you for your service. I was hoping that I might come to the floor today to talk about ways that we might prevent terrorists and criminal organizations from registering aircraft in the United States. There is a Department of Transportation Inspector General report that is well known to Members here that basically lays out the case for more closely scrutinizing the registration of U.S. aircraft. They came up with a few glaring examples that I will mention here. Recently, it was discovered that Hezbollah, through a front person, also from Lebanon, registered an aircraft here in the United States with no landing permit. In addition, we had another aircraft registered through the FAA through Wells Fargo Bank, which we understand was located in Tripoli International Airport in Libya, with no landing permit, just hours before the U.N. Security Council met to approve a no-fly zone over that country.…”