HR0851 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0851 LRB096 18163 GRL 33538 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, One of the sectors most vulnerable to terrorism in the United States is civil aviation; and

WHEREAS, On December 22, 2001, Richard Reid, a member of Al-Qaeda, attempted to destroy American Airlines Flight 63, a trans-Atlantic flight from Paris, France to Miami, Florida, by detonating explosives hidden in his shoes; and

WHEREAS, On December 25, 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, a trans-Atlantic flight en route from Amsterdam, The Netherlands to Detroit, Michigan; and

WHEREAS, The Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), a United States federal law enforcement agency under the supervision of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), currently deploys Federal Air Marshals to detect, deter, and defeat hostile acts targeting U.S. air carriers, airports, passengers, and crews; and

WHEREAS, While the FAMS does a wonderful job in protecting domestic flights, such protection does not apply to the thousands of flights coming into the United States from foreign countries each day; and

WHEREAS, The use of well-trained air marshals in these flights would greatly decrease the risk of a successful terrorist attack in the future; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the President, the members of the United States Congress, the Federal Aviation Administration, and all commercial airlines to implement a requirement that all commercial passenger flights originating outside the U.S. must have at least one qualified air marshal on board; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to President Barack Obama, the members of the Illinois congressional delegation, and FAA Administrator J. Randolph Babbitt.