Political Quotes

“I am sure I am not alone in finding that one of the more disturbing revelations of the investigation into the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon is that over half of the hijackers received flight instruction at American facilities. Investigators have named ten separate flying schools across the United States, from California to Oklahoma to Florida, where the hijacking suspects may have engaged in flight training in one form or another. In addition, it is believed that one of these suspects was able to gain legal entry into the United States through the assistance of a flight school that provided immigration documentation. I know that this ironic turn of events, the schools dedicated to the safety of the airline industry were unwittingly utilized to facilitate the worst airline disaster in history, has school administrators and instructors asking themselves, ``What if . . .'' as they look in the mirror every morning. We need to take action now to remove the doubts of the instructors as well as restore confidence in student pilots engaged in valid training. That is why I am introducing legislation to require thorough background checks on foreign nationals seeking advanced flight or jet aircraft training in American flight schools.”