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Sergeant at Arms Speaks

February 08, 2007 5:18 PM

The House Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingwood released the following statement today about his role in the controversy over an airplane for Speaker Nancy Pelosi's travel to her home district.

"As the Sergeant at Arms, I have the responsibility to ensure the security of the members of the House of Representatives, to include the Speaker of the House.  The Speaker requires additional precautions due to her responsibilities as the leader of the House and her Constitutional position as second in the line of succession to the presidency.

In a post 9/11 threat environment, it is reasonable and prudent to provide military aircraft to the Speaker for official travel between Washington and her district.  The practice began with Speaker Hastert and I have recommended that it continue with Speaker Pelosi.  The fact that Speaker Pelosi lives in California compelled me to request an aircraft that is capable of making non-stop flights for security purposes, unless such an aircraft is unavailable.  This will ensure communications capabilities and also enhance security.  I made the recommendation to use military aircraft based upon the need to provide necessary levels of security for ranking national leaders, such as the Speaker.  I regret that an issue that is exclusively considered and decided in a security context has evolved into a political issue.

February 8, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

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