[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 23, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H7209-H7210]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             AIRLINE SAFETY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, we are talking about a life and death 
matter this evening. And I think the American people, if they knew what 
is happening, would be justifiably outraged, because most people think 
when they go to an airport and they check their luggage, that that 
luggage is screened for explosive devices before it is placed in the 
belly of that airplane. So they get on that airplane, sometimes they 
allow their families, their children to get on those airplanes, 
thinking that it is safe to fly.
  Now, by law, we have to put a disclaimer on the packs of cigarettes 
that says if you smoke these cigarettes, you are endangering yourself 
in certain ways. I believe if we continue to allow the current 
situation to exist, we should be required to put a disclaimer on 
airline tickets that says if you get on this airplane, you need to know 
that it has not been screened, the baggage has not been screened for 
explosives, and this airplane may explode in midair.
  Now, I do not want to be overly dramatic or I do not want to be an 
alarmist, but the American people have a right to accurate, factual 
information. They have a right to know that although the Senate has 
voted 100 to nothing to move an airline security bill, this House has 
refused to even allow that bill to come to this floor so that we can 
debate it and talk about it and air our differences and have a vote.

[[Page H7210]]

  The leadership in this House, the Republican leadership in this 
House, is refusing to allow this bill to even come to this floor. And 
every day that an American citizen buys an airline ticket and gets on 
an airplane, they are in danger; and they need to know that.
  I had a young stockbroker call me from New York City the other day 
when he heard about our efforts to get this done. He told me that he 
had a sister-in-law who was on, I think, the 19th floor of the first 
tower that was hit by the plane in New York; and thankfully, she was 
able to get to safety. But this young man said, ``I am taking my family 
on a vacation in early November,'' and he said ``I am outraged because 
I have always assumed that when I check my luggage, it was screened for 
explosives.'' He said, ``What can I do to get this legislation passed 
into law?''
  I suggested to that young man that he contact his Senators and that 
he contact his Representatives in this House, and I shared with him 
that the Senate has done their work, Republicans and Democrats alike. 
Not a single dissenting vote in the Senate. The most conservative 
Senators, the most liberal Senators, all agreed that it is time to take 
airport security seriously; and they joined together in a bipartisan 
way. They cast their votes, 100 to nothing.
  The American people have a right to ask why is the House not taking 
action? Why is the House preventing this legislation from coming to 
this floor for a vote? It is unconscionable. I am convinced that if we 
do not deal with this legislation, Mr. Speaker, that American citizens 
some day in the future will get on a plane and it will explode and they 
will lose their lives. And if that happens, it will be because this 
House has been negligent and derelict in its duty.
  We owe this to the American people. They want it, and the only thing 
that is keeping it from happening is the leadership on that side of the 
aisle that refuses to allow this legislation to come to the floor for a 
vote.
  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. STRICKLAND. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.
  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman raises a very 
important point. You know, we have had to have a little bump in the 
road because of this anthrax issue to prevent us from working. But it 
is not anthrax that is keeping us from working, it is the poisonous 
special interests which have got the Republican leadership to refuse to 
allow the House to vote.
  I will tell you, we are going to get over this anthrax thing. We are 
going to find a way to open our mail, a way to vote. If we do not get 
the Republican leadership to put this on the agenda, the House is not 
going to be working.
  So I have confidence, we are going to get over the scare, but we have 
to get over the leadership decision to prevent us from voting.
  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time. My friend from 
Washington, and I took an amendment to the Committee on Rules this 
evening asking that this be made a part of the stimulus package. That 
request has been denied. This is just unconscionable.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York.
  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman raised a very 
important point. We are not voting on airline security, yet we are 
voting on a stimulus package, yet the two industries that are most 
hurt, the airlines and tourism, is there anything in this so-called 
stimulus package that does anything to get our airlines flying better, 
any deductions, any support? Is there anything in that stimulus package 
for the airlines?
  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, Not to my knowledge.

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