[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 69 (Friday, May 9, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5993-S5994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   AIR CARGO SECURITY IMPROVEMENT ACT

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I rise to give my comments on 
an act that we passed yesterday. It is the Air Cargo Security 
Improvement Act. I think it is worth noting some of the particulars of 
this legislation which passed the Senate last night because it is 
another important step toward fully protecting the United States and 
all Americans from terrorists who intend to use our aviation system to 
commit future attacks.
  While there are a bunch of provisions in this bill, it includes the 
creation of a security program to protect our air cargo from terrorist 
attacks. This bill mandates crucial studies on blast-resistant cargo 
containers. It also provides for TSA, the Transportation Security 
Administration, passenger screening. That is known as CAPPS II. It also 
provides how to defend our airliners from shoulder-fired missile 
attacks. That is a shoulder-mounted, heat-seeking missile, similar to 
that used in the attack of last December on an Israeli charter jet in 
the skies over Kenya.
  This legislation is clearly in the interest of the United States and 
in the interest of freedom-loving people around the world. It also 
addresses a deep concern of mine regarding foreign citizens coming to 
the United States to receive pilot training on all sizes of aircraft. 
Does that have a resonance? Does that call to mind something that had 
disastrous consequences to this country?
  Well, indeed, because what we have seen is what can happen when 
people come to our country with the specific intent to do us great 
harm. Many of the September 11 hijackers had learned to fly airplanes 
right here in the United States. They used those airplanes, then, as 
deadly weapons against the interests of Americans and the people who 
were in those buildings. They learned to fly in flight schools right 
here in the United States.
  Now, section 113 of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, 
which was enacted in the last Congress, requires background checks of 
all foreign flight school applicants seeking training to operate 
aircraft that are 12,500 pounds or more. I had attached that particular 
provision in the Commerce Committee, and that was part of the package 
that ultimately became law.
  Clearly, that was a step in the right direction because, had that 
been in effect, it would have screened out those who did harm to us by 
learning to fly airliners in our own flight training schools here. But 
that provision--with a cutoff of only learning to fly 12,500-pound 
aircraft or more--doesn't help us from preventing different types of 
potential attacks against our domestic security.
  To rectify that problem, we attached another amendment to the bill 
that passed last night which addresses the issue of background checks 
for all foreign flight students who come to flight schools to learn to 
fly in the United States.
  Why? Besides the obvious--the events on September 11--the FBI has 
issued terrorism warnings indicating that small planes might be used to 
carry out suicide attacks. Small aircraft can be used by terrorists to 
attack nuclear facilities, carry explosives, or to deliver biological 
or chemical agents. We remember what they found on the computer of one 
of the suspected hijackers: information about learning to fly a crop 
duster.
  For example, if a crop duster is filled with a combination of 
fertilizers and explosives and were it to be taken into an area of high 
concentration of people, such as a sports stadium, that could do some 
serious damage and some serious injury, not even to speak of the 
possibility of distributing biological or chemical agents from 
something like a crop duster. It is in the interest of this country to 
ensure we are not training terrorists to perform those acts.
  The bill that passed last night will close an important loophole and 
answer the critical warnings issued recently by the FBI by extending 
the background check requirement to all foreign applicants to U.S. 
flight schools regardless of the size of aircraft they seek to learn to 
fly.
  The flight schools naturally have been concerned: Is this going to be 
more redtape for them? The fact is, when we passed this provision over 
a year ago, it was assigned to the Department of Justice. The 
Department of Justice never implemented the bill, to the great 
frustration of the owners and the operators of flight schools, so that 
they could never get the foreign flight students in because the 
Department of Justice had not implemented the rules to allow those 
background checks, which is a simple little fingerprint test that can 
be done in our embassies and consulates abroad before the foreign 
flight student ever comes to America. Naturally, the flight schools 
were frustrated.
  We are rectifying that situation for the flight schools because this 
is not going to be in the Department of Justice, where the holdup 
occurred; it is going to be in the new Department of Homeland Security, 
specifically designated to the TSA, the Transportation Security 
Administration, and it is my expectation that the TSA, which provided 
excellent advice in the fine-tuning of this legislation, will apply an 
appropriate level of background screening to all foreign nationals who 
seek flight training in the United States, and then the frustrations of 
the flight schools will be taken care of. The flight schools will be 
able to know that the background check has already been done abroad 
before the flight student from a foreign land arrives.
  That procedure is not going to allow anyone to slip through the 
cracks. We cannot aid anyone who intends to do harm to Americans and to 
our Nation.
  I thank all the Senators who helped me with this legislation. It has 
been a couple of years in the making to finally get it to this point. 
The chairman and ranking members, Senators McCain and Hollings, and 
their staff have worked with us to ensure the inclusion of this 
provision in the bill. Finally, we are on the way to solving this 
problem.

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