[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 22 (Thursday, February 6, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E157-E158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INTRODUCING THE COMMERCIAL AIRLINE MISSILE DEFENSE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEVE ISRAEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 5, 2003

  Mr. ISRAEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill that will 
correct a glaring vulnerability in our homeland defense. The 
``Commercial Airline Missile Defense Act'' will fully fund the addition 
of electronic surface-to-air missile defense systems on all 
commercially scheduled flights on United States aircrafts.
  Protecting American lives is the most fundamental job of the Federal 
Government. We must therefore eliminate every weakness that we see in 
our country's homeland defense. The vulnerability of our commercial air 
fleet to terrorist missile attack is not a hysterical hypothetical. It 
is a real and present danger.
  Last November there was attempted missile attack on an Israeli 
airliner taking off from an airport in Kenya. Two surface-to-air 
missiles, also known SAMs, which can bring down large airplanes--
commercial as well as military--from up to 30 miles from an airport 
were launched against an Israeli chartered jet airliner. It was only 
profound good luck--likely a flawed missile batch--that saved the plane 
and its hundreds of innocent passengers. Thankfully, last November's 
attack on the Israeli jetliner failed. We need to keep in mind, 
however, that the missile used in the Israeli attack one of the least 
sophisticated of the several types of SAMs that exist in the world 
today. It was a Soviet-era SA7, which was been sold globally since the 
end of the cold war. The other types of SAMs are much more advanced and 
much more effective.
  SAMs were designed to be highly portable and are easily disassembled. 
As such, they are relatively easy to transport and smuggle. Terrorist 
could launch this five-foot long missile from near an airport and flee 
before anyone can detect them. Airplanes taking off with full and 
highly combustible fuel tanks are the most likely and deadly targets. 
The U.S. government must equip all its aircrafts with a defense system 
to protect and defend against this threat.
  The United States provided Stingers--a type of SAM--to the Mujahadeen 
in the 1980s in Afghanistan. They were used with devastating affect 
against the Soviets. The Mujahadeen, who subsequently splintered into 
the Taliban and Al Qaeda, possessed at least a thousand Stingers that 
were never accounted for after the war ended in 1989. Soviet shoulder 
armed missiles, like the ones used in Kenya against the Israeli 
jetliner, are even far more abundant.
  Tens of thousands of these missiles are out there. Although most are 
in state arsenals, thousands--including U.S. Stingers and Russian 
SA7s--are unaccounted for and feared to be in the hands of terrorists.

[[Page E158]]

  Few doubt that Al Qaeda does not possess large quantities of Russian 
SA7s and even more effective U.S. Stingers. A successful attack against 
a Boeing 747-400 with full capacity could cost almost five hundred 
lives. Aside from large-scale casualties, such a successful attack 
would have a devastating impact on the U.S. Aircraft industry, on 
travel and tourism, and on the entire economy. It would be a 
multifaceted catastrophe.
  Now that we understand that pleas are vulnerable, the United States 
Government must take every step to protect and defend American 
citizens. The advanced technology needed to protect American commercial 
airplanes exists and is operation on U.S. military transports. The new 
system are advanced and are much more successful than the previous 
system of diversionary flares. The most modern systems, such as those 
installed on U.S. C17s and C5As, identify when a plane is threatened, 
detect the source of the threat, jam the guidance system of the 
incoming missiles and steer it off its flight path. Similar systems are 
currently used on low-altitude military aircrafts.
  The rapid deployment of this system is essential for the safety of 
U.S. commercial flyers and is the clear responsibility of the U.S. 
Government to implement. I propose fully funding the retrofitting of 
SAM defensive systems and beginning that process this year.
  No one in this body would question that preserving and protecting the 
people of the United States is our most important and sacred 
constitutional responsibility. At this critical time in our Nation's 
history we have two simultaneous crises and concerns: national security 
and economic security. The bill I introduce today addresses both of 
these issues. This legislation would take the preventive step of 
reducing risk to millions of travelers and create thousands of jobs 
through the retrofitting of the defensive technologies.
  Additionally, this bill will boost our airline industry. Recent 
surveys have shown that between one-fifth to one-third of Americans are 
restricting their flying because of fears of terrorism. Our government 
and the airline industry are working closely together to restore full 
consumer confidence in the safety of our commercial air system. 
Implementing a robust and effective defense system for our commercial 
jet fleet would further accelerate the process of making Americans feel 
safer when they fly, and help the economic recovery of U.S. air 
carriers. The estimated cost of $10.2 billion for a system of 6,800 
commercial jets at a unit price of $1.5 million will be offset by these 
economic benefits. The unit cost could drop even lower in mass 
production.
  Mr. Speaker, I fully realize that a ten billion expenditure is 
significant. But it is not prohibitive. The only thing that would be 
prohibitive would be for this Congress to be negligent in our 
responsibility to protect the people of our great Nation. Let us not 
gather together in grief the morning after a catastrophe and wonder 
what we could have done to prevent it. We know what can be done. Let's 
do it.

                          ____________________