Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., will introduce a bill on the House floor early next week to integrate the Civil Air Patrol with the Department of Homeland Security to assist with border control and emergency response in case of a terrorist attack.
“I think this idea is long overdue,” Dent said at a luncheon in the Capitol to commemorate the Air Patrol’s 65th anniversary. “We have the aircraft; we have the pilots. This is something the country needs.”
Dent said he decided to introduce the legislation after visiting the U.S.-Mexico border in Laredo, Texas and discovered customs officials un-equipped to guard the border.
“Border patrol simply lacked aviation assets,” he said. “This situation is totally unacceptable.”
The bill, which has collected 18 cosponsors from both parties according to Dent, will come in wake of a weeklong lobbying effort in Washington on the part of the CAP to obtain more funding and expand its mission.
“We can help them out,” CAP National Commander Maj. Gen. Antonio Pineda said. “We want to work on border security. I could have planes flying tomorrow if they gave me permission.”
The 6,000-member, all-volunteer force was founded in 1941 one week before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and now functions as an auxiliary arm of the Air Force. Spread across the United States, the CAP’s primary responsibility today remains in-land search and rescue and aerospace education.
