Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, introduced legislation Monday that would direct the Secretary of Transportation to revoke no-fly zones over Disneyland and Disney World, the Daily Caller reported.
The bill calls on Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to remove the Notices to Airmen (NOTAM’s) over the two Disney theme parks. Congress in 2003 passed acts that created flight restrictions in the airspace over the Disney resorts in Florida and California.
Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Gregory Steube, R-Fla., co-sponsored Nehls’ bill.
“The federal government should not grant special privileges and pick favorites for powerful well-connected companies like Disney,” Nehls told the Daily Caller before introducing the legislation.
“Measures designed to protect our national security and public safety should not be co-opted by corporations looking to gain.”
The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of Nehls’ bill titled the Airlines Independent of Restrictions Act (AIR) Act.
Nehls early last month sent letters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Buttigieg calling out blatant favoritism toward The Walt Disney Company, and urging them to reconsider the appropriateness of Disney’s designated “no fly-zone” over the resorts.
“[The Federal Aviation Administration’s] flight restrictions add complexity and restrict freedom — they should be reserved for compelling national security and safety needs,” Nehls wrote in his letter to Buttigieg.
“Unfortunately, special interests may have hijacked the agency’s mandate, in the sheep’s clothing of national security, for commercial gain.”
The congressman’s office told the Caller that Disney was “the only theme park that benefits from the restriction for the commercial gains of eliminating banner ads and disruptive aircrafts from their parks.”
The move is the latest aimed at Disney, which opposed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
The Florida House of Representatives in April passed a bill to dissolve Walt Disney World’s private government. The measure allows for the districts to be re-established, potentially leaving things open for a future renegotiation.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., hinted in mid-May that Florida might take over Disney World’s self-governing Reedy Creek district instead of ceding control of the area to other local governments.
Reporting from Newsmax.
