Lawmakers blast Obama's DHS for Libya policy reversal

by: jim kouri | published: 03 30, 2014

Four top GOP lawmakers are demanding that the Department of Homeland Security come clean on its proposed rescinding of the United States' Libyan policy prohibiting citizens from that country from working in the aviation industry, according to a letter sent on Wednesday.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.,chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee; Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.; and National Security Subcommittee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, wrote a scathing letter to the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson regarding their concerns with U.S. national security that would result from this latest arbitrary decision by President Barack Obama and his administration.

The four lawmakers characterized Obama's revised Libya policy as being a "misguided and dangerous plan" to allow Libyans to legally come to America to attend flight schools, to work as aviation maintenance workers, or any type of flight operations.

The Obama administration is also allowing Libyan's to study nuclear science or seek training in the nuclear energy industry, which continues to be vulnerable according to an Examiner report last year.

Recently, members of the House Judiciary Committee obtained a draft of the final regulation from a source within the Homeland Security Department that describes President Barack Obama's minions proposing a change in its policy towards Libya in spite of the continued armed conflict between the weak, corrupt Libyan government and the radical Muslim terrorist groups, as described in an Examiner news story.

Upon hearing about the change in policy, Congressmen Goodlatte and Chaffetz wrote to then-DHS Acting Secretary Rand Beers about this proposed policy shift in November 2013.

Unfortunately, four months after receiving the Goodlatte-Chaffetz letter, DHS failed to respond to the letter while DHS officials are going forward with the disturbing shift in policy without officially informing members of the House of Representatives or answering questions posed by congressmen.

The letter sent on Wednesday also informed Secretary Johnson that the Judiciary Committee's Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee, and also the Subcommittee on National Security of Rep. Issa's House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is intent on convening "a joint hearing on this issue in the immediate future."

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