[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 148 (Wednesday, October 31, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H7533]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HEAVEN HELP THIS HOUSE

  (Mr. INSLEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues should be aware that when they 
get on their planes to go home to their districts this weekend, they 
should know that 90 to 95 percent of the bags that will go into the 
belly of their airplanes will not be screened for explosive devices. 
This is an enormous hole in our security system, and we applaud the 
efforts of the Secretary of Transportation and we applaud the efforts 
of the Congress, as we are going to do everything we can to take nail 
clippers away from passengers, but it does not do any good if they can 
put 40 pounds of C-4 high explosives in bags in the belly of our 
airplanes.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill that the majority party is bringing to the 
floor of the House is not going to solve that problem. It will have 
some nice rhetorical flourish language that some day, at some 
unspecified date, by some unspecified means, we are going to check 
these bags, but that is not good enough.
  We have offered an amendment, and I hope the majority party will 
allow this House to vote on our amendment, which will assure by a 
specific date through a specific authorization that 100 percent of the 
bags that go in each jet airplane get screened to keep bombs out of 
them. And if we do not do that, heaven help this House.

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