News Staff posted on March 13, 2013 16:14
Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) introduced bipartisan legislation to reverse the policy change by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that allows small knives onto planes.
The “No Knives Act” would stop the new TSA rules from going into effect, freezing the permitted items list as it stands today. Markey previously sent a letter to the TSA asking it to reverse the policy, but the agency is currently holding firm on its plans to allow knives under 2.36 inches long on planes beginning April 25, 2013..
“There is no reason for a passenger to have a knife on a plane, and allowing knives on planes puts our flight attendants, pilots and passengers at greater risk,” Markey said.
The TSA says the change is “part of an overall risk-based security approach, which allows transportation security officers to better focus their efforts on finding higher-threat items such as explosives.”
TSA Administrator John Pistole is set to sit before the House Homeland Security Committee on March 14 and is sure to face tough questions about the new policy.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the ranking member on that committee, said he has “serious objections” to the TSA’s decision-making. He said the agency needs to confer with aviation workers when it makes “significant policy changes that impact the frontline workforce and the flying public.”
The policy has also faced opposition from airlines and aviation employee unions.