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Congress Federalizes Airport Workers NewsMax.com WiresWASHINGTON – Congress on Friday approved an airport security plan including air marshals, reinforced cockpit doors and, most notably, a federal airport security force of 28,000 by the end of next year. The plan replaces the private, widely criticized companies responsible for screening passengers and baggage with widely criticized government workers. President Bush has already indicated that he would sign the bill, which was debated for more than a month after the Senate unanimously passed similar legislation. House conservatives – led by Majority Leader Dick Armey and Majority Whip Tom DeLay, both Texas Republicans – objected to making every security worker a federal employee. The House passed legislation to put the private companies under the supervision of the federal government, but stopped short of the full federalization model adopted by the Senate. However, in a joint-cameral conference committee, the negotiators mostly adopted the Senate approach but allowed for five pilot programs of private security companies supervised by the federal government to test their effectiveness. After three years, airports will be given the option to opt out of the federalized program and retain security companies under close government scrutiny. The safety in air travel question arises from the events of Sept. 11, when commercial airliners were hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 5,000 people. The hijackers were apparently able to evade airport security procedures with ease. Since the attacks, added scrutiny has discovered repeated instances of security violations and breaches. The Senate unanimously approved the conference report without so much as a vote, while the House voted to approve the bill 410 to 9. House conservatives sought one major change made to the final version from the original Senate bill. The Senate bill had put the responsibility for security under the Department of Justice, but conservatives preferred this job to fall to the Department of Transportation, and they prevailed on the point in conference. The bill also expands the air marshal program. At present, all flights to and from Reagan National Airport must have marshals onboard. In the future, more flights will include such armed protection to prevent against hijacking. 72% at Dulles Aren't U.S. Citizens! Security screeners would undergo criminal background checks and would have to be U.S. citizens. Ken Quinn, general counsel for the Aviation Security Association, told CNN that at Washington's Dulles International Airport, 72 percent of the screeners are non-U.S. citizens.
Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
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