[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 154 (Thursday, November 8, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S11584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THERE IS A NEED FOR IMPROVED AIRLINE SECURITY

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Madam President, as we are locked in this 
deadlock with the House of Representatives over the question of airport 
passenger screening security, basically the deadlock is the Senate has 
passed a bill 100-0 that would provide for federalizing the screening 
process of passengers; that is, attaches to the Justice Department that 
these would be Federal employees who have specific training in law 
enforcement so we can heighten the feeling of confidence of the 
American flying public that they will be safe when they get in an 
airliner to take their travel.
  Why is this important? It is obvious the airline industry is one of 
the important economic components of our national economic engine, and 
as long as people are scared to get into a plane and fly, then we are 
not going to rev up that economic engine and get it functioning on all 
cylinders as is so necessary.
  There are parts of this country that are certainly more affected than 
others by the diminution of airline travel. Clearly, the city of New 
York, the State of the Presiding Officer, is drastically affected; 
clearly, cities in my State, such as Miami, or Orlando, the No. 1 
tourist destination in the world. I have talked to the owners of 
hotels--not the business hotels; the business hotels are doing OK, not 
good but OK--and the tourist-oriented hotels now have an occupancy rate 
in the range of 40 to 45 percent.
  I talked to the owner of one hotel with 800 rooms; they shut down 600 
rooms. It does not take a rocket scientist to recognize with that 
diminished revenue they will not be able to pay mortgage payments, 
taxes. They have already laid off a significant portion of their staff.
  We understand what happens as the ripples run through the economy. 
What do we do? We want to give a feeling of confidence, of safety, to 
the American flying public. What better way to do that than for the 
public to know, when they go through that passenger screening process, 
in fact, if there are people trying to do dastardly things to them by 
sneaking through implements of destruction, they will get caught.
  The fact is, recently they have not been caught. We heard this rather 
astounding story a couple of days ago about in the Chicago area a 
person had two knives, got on the plane, and had in their carryon 
luggage other implements of destruction. This is several weeks now, 
after September 11.
  We read the story last week about the fellow sitting on the airplane, 
in flight, horrified to suddenly realize someone had given him a pistol 
as a present, and he forgot it was in his carry-on luggage. He had the 
presence of mind to call over the flight attendant in the midst of the 
flight to say what happened. The fact is, airline passenger security 
had failed again.

  Does this engender confidence in the American flying public? Of 
course, it doesn't. We are undercutting the very thing we need to be 
doing for those desperately needing the airlines back in robust 
business again--the hotel operators, the service personnel, the gift 
stores in the hotels, the restaurants, the tourist destinations, and 
the multiplicity of industries and businesses, both large and small, 
that spawn from this wonderful, robust transportation network we have 
had in the skies.
  Why am I saying this? It took 4 weeks in the Senate to pass this bill 
because people in this Chamber were filibustering it because they 
wanted that passenger security screening operation to continue as it 
is, privately contracted out. That is not going to cut it. Yet we were 
held up 4 weeks. By the time it got around to the final passage, there 
was no Senator who was going to vote against it. It was 100-0 in this 
Chamber. Now we are at loggerheads with the House of Representatives, 
which by a very narrow margin of one or two votes passed a highly 
partisan bill that says it is still going to be contracted out. They 
say: Don't worry; we will federally oversee the contracting. But if the 
whole Nation's economy hinges on getting the public to believe it is 
safe to get back into an airliner and fly, are we not wasting precious 
minutes every day we are at loggerheads with the House of 
Representatives? We have a 100-0 vote here; they have virtually a split 
vote of 215 each. Why not look at what is best for the country?
  How many more newspaper stories do we have to read, as we have in the 
last couple of days, about the stun guns, the knives, and the box 
cutters getting through security. How much more do we have to read 
before it convinces us and convinces the body at the other end of this 
United States Capitol that it is time to put aside their philosophical 
positions, their partisan positions, and pass something into law so we 
can restore the confidence of the American people.
  I share these thoughts after considering this very important 
intelligence legislation, all of which is very necessary to the 
security of this country, as is the airline security bill important to 
the security of this country, both economically and as we take on the 
terrorists.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Edwards). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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