[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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