Drug and Alcohol Testing

I just got an alert from an aviation association urging me to call my member of Congress "as soon as possible" and ask that they oppose the Poe amendment when it comes up for debate today. Here is the text of the alert: OPPOSE POE AMENDMENT TO SHUT DOWN THIRD-PARTY REPAIR STATIONS! The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled this morning to begin debate on H.R. 2881, the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2007. During the course of the debate, several amendments will be offered by Members of Congress, including one that could essentially prevent the use of all third-party maintenance facilities overseas. Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) will offer an amendment that would extend drug and alcohol testing requirements to all foreign repair stations. The amendment, supported by airline maintenance labor unions, is a thinly veiled attempt to eliminate competition from all foreign third-party maintenance providers on commercial aircraft abroad. The United States lacks the legal authority to impose such requirements on the citizens of foreign countries, and many nations are firmly opposed to mandatory drug and alcohol testing programs. As a result, this amendment, if approved, would effectively eliminate the ability of air carriers to obtain third-party maintenance overseas. Furthermore, the imposition of such drug and alcohol testing programs could lead to restriction on trade with other countries, significantly damaging the aviation industry in the United States. Call your Member of Congress as soon as possible and ask that they oppose the Poe amendment when it comes up for debate today! Explain that this amendment is a backdoor attempt to restrict and shut down third-party maintenance at foreign facilities for both commercial and general aviation, and has little to do with actually improving aviation safety. There are no identified safety issues with such repair stations, and this amendment will only lead to increased maintenance costs. Maybe it's just me, but how is making foreign repair stations comply with the same drug and alcohol testing our domestic repair stations are required to follow by a bad thing? It's not like we are trying to change the foreign government's laws or sovereignty. We are just saying, "If you want to work on U.S. type-certificated aircraft, and want to receive an FAA repair station certificate, you need to have a drug and alcohol testing program in place." No testing program, no certificate. Instead of looking at how this amendment could potentially hurt foreign repair stations, why not consider how it will help level the playing field? Domestic repair stations need to have drug and alcohol testing in place -- why shouldn't foreign repair stations? And finally, if performing drug and alcohol testing on mechanics who inspect, repair, and maintain our nation's fleet of commercial aircraft has "little to do with actually improving aviation safety," why not just do away with all drug and alcohol testing requirements? One way or the other, isn't it time to level the playing field? If you want to let your voice be heard, be sure to call your representative! Let him or her know how you feel about the Poe Amendment to H.R. 2881. To see the status of H.R. 2881, click here. Thanks for reading! Joe Escobar