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July 20, 2008 - 7:11am.
Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta says a mix up on a terrorist watch list is still wreaking havoc on his air travel five years after the problem arose. The 11-term Democratic congressman wrote to the House Homeland Security Committee this week that he's still subjected to repeated airport searches and required to present multiple forms of identification. The problem persists even though Homeland Security recently gave him a letter to show airlines that was supposed to clear things up. If it's still happening to a congressman, he wrote, "you can only imagine what the average American suffers." "I have been trying to get off (this list) for years," he wrote. "It is wrong." Lewis' travel hassles — along with those of other high-profile figures such as Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts — began several years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, as the government quickly expanded its watch lists. Airline officials have told Lewis that extra security is triggered because someone with a similar name is under suspicion. On one occasion, a flight attendant speaking on the loudspeaker called for Lewis to identify himself in mid-flight. The attendant asked for his driver's license and questioned him, he said. Transportation Security Administration spokesman Christopher White said Friday that Lewis is probably getting screened because airlines are misinterpreting security lists. The agency submits three updated lists to the airlines daily, he said. One is a "no-fly" list for people not allowed to board planes. Another "selectee" list is for passengers requiring extra screening, and another "cleared" list is for safe passengers like Lewis who have been certified by Homeland Security after experiencing problems. "Some airlines do a great job of matching the lists to the manifests, some do not," White said. TSA hopes to improve the process by taking over the job from the airlines next year, he said. A Lewis spokeswoman said the situation has improved, but he still must take extra precautions to avoid embarrassment, such as notifying TSA when he plans to fly. On Friday, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., wrote Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to respond to Lewis' complaints. Thompson asked that Chertoff report to the committee how many other people with the name John Lewis have reported similar problems. Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press
Capitol Hill Blue's columnists, blogs and reader comments Capitol Hill Blue is an independent, non-partisan news site that belongs to no political party and subscribes to no political or philosophical point-of-view. Our columnists are welcome to their opinions but readers should understand that their views do not necessarily reflect the editorial policies of this web site. We also welcome comments to selected opinion columns and in our popular ReaderRant discussion forum. Please remember, however, that we believe in civility on this web site and comments may be reviewed, moderated or removed if we feel they contain obscenities, racism, bigotry, anti-Semitic remarks or attack other posters. Our goal is reasoned discussion on issues facing this nation and we do not feel that goal is served by personal attacks and by seeing how many cute adjectives you can attach to an elected official or politician's name. Copyright © 2008 Capitol Hill Blue
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Unfortunately those of us
Submitted by barak on July 21, 2008 - 8:30am.Unfortunately those of us not privileged enough to be members of the Imperial Congress must suffer on, remaining on this list without knowing why you were put on it in the first place.
It is a major inconvenience, and causes lots of hassles when flying--particularly on Southwest or American Airlines. Why only those two airlines seem to have flagged me on a permanent TWL status is one more mystery of the TSA.
I would not mind all the crap IF I felt that they were doing a better job of assuring my security and safety in the air, but I have experienced and noted many lapses of thorough inspection of bags and persons that lead me to know that a determined terrorist could easily defeat any security measures now in place.
I would suggest that our government look to the security measures in place at El Al and Ben Gurion Airport, and that those be adopted as the norm for air travel.
I'd always rather be slow and late than dead.
Can you imagine what the
Submitted by churlpat on July 21, 2008 - 10:45am.Can you imagine what the world of travel would be like for his enemies if Richard Nixon were still President?
I'm afraid I sense the same sort of thing with this administration.
Churlpat -- a plutarch by any name is still a plutarch
Amazing! This list was a
Submitted by jgw on July 21, 2008 - 3:30pm.Amazing! This list was a congressional thing NOT Homeland Security (although they 'manage' it). It was a screwup from the very beginning. The bureaucrats who set it up forgot a couple of little things so that deletions are impossible and when a name goes in then EVERYBODY with that name is on the list. If John Lewis, the congressman, is on the list this also means that EVERY John Lewis, in the country is on the list!
It gets even better! Homeland Security has publicly announced that 'real' terrorists are not on the list as that would give away the 'secret' that we know about him/her. So, what we have here, is obviously yet another government program that provides employment, and higher airline prices (they foot the bill), and lists non-terrorists.
Its also my understanding that this list also carries everybody with an outstanding warrant (even for parking tickets), owes child support, and any other infraction, major or silly. Remember, again, that when a name goes in then EVERYBODY with that name is gifted with being on the no-fly list.
A perfect example, I think, of a power drunk government, completely out of control, harassing folks simply because they can. If this was not reality I don't think that anybody would think that their land of the free, and home of the brave, would indulge in this, well, I guess 'terrorism' might be a good term - against their own citizens!
jgw
Port Angeles, WA
That explains it. I have a
Submitted by barak on July 22, 2008 - 5:57am.That explains it. I have a VERY common name and have had problems before. When I bought my first house I had to sign 26 affidavits that I never lived at ________ before. Then when I took out a loan for a car, it took 3 weeks for the paperwork to be processed. I have no outstanding tickets and have never been arrested for anything.
I think I am going to legally change my name to: Mr. *W%#@$&^ B!@)$&*#@(%%. How many people can there be with that name?
Mr jgw: or Ms. jgw if that's
Submitted by churlpat on July 22, 2008 - 9:56pm.Mr jgw:
or Ms. jgw if that's the case:
I just spent two hours on line trying to find where DHS had announced that real terrorists aren't on the terrorist watch list. I can't find it, and it's making me crazy. Can you tell me where to find this announcement?
I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that real terrorists would be given a free pass because we don't want them to know we know their names. Why would DHS care if they know we know, or even if we know that they know that we know? The important thing is to keep the bad guy from getting on the darned plane. But the whole thing is a joke anyway. No self-respecting terrorist is going to use his or her real name to get on a plane. The miscreant will merely go to his or her consulate and get a new passport with a different name. This should be pretty easy in countries that sponsor terrorism.
Also, I would like information about how the list includes everyone with an outstanding warrant. I can't find anything on that, either. I have a hard time believing that that is true, since my guess is there are a whole bunch more than a million people in the US with warrants hanging around. I did find several places which stated that the watch list now had a million names on it.
Churlpat -- a plutarch by any name is still a plutarch