As 2013 comes to a rapid close, I have a strange feeling coming upon me. Something overly and unpleasantly familiar. Almost like déjà vu. It must be my yearly December rant about the repair station security rules (or lack thereof).

Throughout the year, ARSA heard from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that the rules would be completed by the end of the year. TSA Administrator Pistole even told a congressional committee in April that “it should be” completed by the end of the year. You might recall the promise by Pistole that the rules would be out by the end of 2012. Or the commitment to complete the rules by the end of 2005.  You see the pattern.

Nonetheless, I’m more optimistic than I’ve been in the past that the rule will completed soon. In 2013, we saw unprecedented pressure and inquiries from Capitol Hill pushing the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). And we have a new DHS secretary, Jeh Johnson. We know senators probed Johnson about the status of the security rules during the confirmation process and that certainly raised the visibility of the issue. Does fresh leadership mean a new focus on completing a rulemaking that has been pending for over a decade? ARSA hasn’t been waiting to find out.

“Lift the ban” legislation is getting prepared for congressional introduction when lawmakers return in January. But maybe the industry will get the present it’s asking for (finalizing the rule), that it doesn’t really want (the rule is a solution in search of a problem), but we’re pushing for because of the economic implications of the foreign repair station certification prohibition. It could be a Christmas miracle!