[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 35 (Wednesday, March 5, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3165-S3166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BUNNING (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Craig, 
        Mr. Allen, Mr. Nickles, Mr. Burns, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Thomas, 
        Ms. Snowe, Mr. Miller, Mr. Campbell, and Mr. Sessions):
  S. 516. A bill to amend title 49, United States Code, to allow the 
arming of pilots of cargo aircraft, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I rise today with several of my senate 
colleagues to introduce the Arming Cargo Pilots Against Terrorism Act. 
This bill closes a loophole to better protect the homeland against 
terrorists.
  As a result of the airplane hijackings on September 11, 2001, 
Congress took the appropriate action to prevent from ever happening 
again the use of an airliner as a missile and weapon of mass 
destruction and murder. Last year, large majorities of the Senate and 
House of Representatives voted to arm both cargo and passenger pilots 
who volunteered for a stringent training proram as part of the homeland 
security bill.
  Arming these pilots served to protect the pilots and aircrew, 
passengers and those on the ground from ever being victims of another 
airline hijacking. It was the right thing to do. However, during 
conference of the homeland security bill the cargo pilots were yanked 
from the bill. This bill we introduce today will arm cargo pilots and 
close the loophole created when they were left out last year.
  It is true that cargo airlines rarely have passengers, but that is no 
reason to disregard and ignore the safety of those cargo pilots and the 
aircrafts they control. Indeed, on occasions they do carry passengers, 
and sometimes they transport couriers and guards of some of the cargo 
being transported. Too many times these couriers and guards are armed 
while the pilots are unarmed. After September 11, that simply does not 
make sense.
  As well, physical security around too many of our air cargo 
facilities and terminals is not up to the standard it should be. This 
lax in security has allowed stowaways a free pass in climbing aboard 
cargo airplanes for a free ride. Just a few months ago a woman in 
Fargo, ND, rushed onto a United Parcel Service plane trying to get to 
California. Fortunately she was caught. I guarantee that many have 
successfully sneaked onto cargo airplanes. And many more will continue 
to try. This is further evidence as to why we need to act to allow 
these cargo pilots to defend themselves and the cockpit.
  Cargo pilots are not armed and they will never have Federal air 
marshals. Cargo planes do not have trained flight attendants or alert 
passengers to fend off hijackers. Cargo planes do not have reinforced 
cockpit doors, and some do not have any doors at all. Cargo areas of 
airports are not as secure as a passenger areas, and thousands of 
personnel have access to the aircraft. Finally, stowaways sometimes 
find their way aboard cargo aircraft. And in the future one might be a 
terrorist.
  There are no logical reasons to exclude cargo pilots. Simply saying 
that since they carry no passengers unlike a passenger airliner is not 
a good enough reason. Cargo planes are just as big as--if not bigger 
than--passenger planes. They can carry larger loads of fuel and 
frequently carry hazardous materials, including chemicals and 
biological products. A cargo airplane causes just as much damage when 
used as a weapon as did the passenger planes hijacked on September 11.
  We cannot allow what happened on September 11 to ever happen again. 
This loophole of excluding cargo pilots from being able to protect 
themselves and their aircraft and the public must be removed. This is 
the right thing to do, and I ask my Senate colleagues for their 
support.
  I ask unanimous consent that this bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 516

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Arming Cargo Pilots Against 
     Terrorism Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) During the 107th Congress, both the Senate and the 
     House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed measures that 
     would have armed pilots of cargo aircraft.
       (2) Cargo aircraft do not have Federal air marshals, 
     trained cabin crew, or determined passengers to subdue 
     terrorists.
       (3) Cockpit doors on cargo aircraft, if present at all, 
     largely do not meet the security standards required for 
     commercial passenger aircraft.
       (4) Cargo aircraft vary in size and many are larger and 
     carry larger amounts of fuel than the aircraft hijacked on 
     September 11, 2001.
       (5) Aircraft cargo frequently contains hazardous material 
     and can contain deadly biological and chemical agents and 
     quantities of agents that cause communicable diseases.
       (6) Approximately 12,000 of the nation's 90,000 commercial 
     pilots serve as pilots and flight engineers on cargo 
     aircraft.
       (7) There are approximately 2,000 cargo flights per day in 
     the United States, many of which are loaded with fuel for 
     outbound international travel or are inbound from foreign 
     airports not secured by the Transportation Security 
     Administration.
       (8) Aircraft transporting cargo pose a serious risk as 
     potential terrorist targets that could be used as weapons of 
     mass destruction.
       (9) Pilots of cargo aircraft deserve the same ability to 
     protect themselves and the

[[Page S3166]]

     aircraft they pilot as other commercial airline pilots.
       (10) Permitting pilots of cargo aircraft to carry firearms 
     creates an important last line of defense against a terrorist 
     effort to commandeer a cargo aircraft.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that a 
     member of a flight deck crew of a cargo aircraft should be 
     armed with a firearm to defend the cargo aircraft against an 
     attack by terrorists that could result in the use of the 
     aircraft as a weapon of mass destruction or for other 
     terrorist purposes.

     SEC. 3. ARMING CARGO PILOTS AGAINST TERRORISM.

       Section 44921 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``passenger'' each place 
     that it appears; and
       (2) in subsection (k)--
       (A) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by striking ``or,'' and all that follows; and
       (ii) by inserting ``or any other flight deck crew 
     member.''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) All-cargo air transportation.--For the purposes of 
     this section, the term air transportation includes all-cargo 
     air transportation.''.

     SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION.

       (a) Time for Implementation.--The training of pilots as 
     Federal flight deck officers required in the amendments made 
     by section 3 shall begin as soon as practicable and no later 
     than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
       (b) Effect on Other Laws.--The requirements of subsection 
     (a) shall have no effect on the deadlines for implementation 
     contained in section 44921 of title 49, United States Code, 
     as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this 
     Act.
                                 ______