[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 103 (Thursday, July 22, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S8707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. BOXER:
  S. 2726. A bill to amend title 49 of the United States Code to 
provide flight attendant security training, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today, I am introducing legislation that 
is important to the security of our air travel: ensuring that our 
Nation's flight attendants receive anti-terrorist security training.
  On September 11th, as we all know, the terrorists hijacked four 
commercial jets--all of which were heading to California. And while I 
can say that air travel today is more secure than it was before the 
terrorist attacks, I still believe that we have more to do--which was 
proven with the information recently that a flight between LAX and 
Dulles is a ``flight of interest.'' There are still threats out there.
  It is unacceptable to have loopholes in our aviation security--nearly 
3 years since the attack.
  In addition to air marshals and armed pilots, flight attendants are 
part of the last line of defense. The most obvious case is Richard 
Reid--the shoe bomber who was stopped with the help of a flight 
attendant. That was a courageous--and life saving--act. All flight 
attendants should be trained and ready to respond to these types of 
incidents.
  As part of the Department of Homeland Security legislation in 2002, 
we passed strong flight attendant security training, which I helped 
write with former Senator Bob Smith. Unfortunately, last year, much of 
that was repealed--at the insistence of a single member of the House--
in the FAA Reauthorization bill.
  Therefore, I am introducing legislation today that would reinstate 
the flight attendant security training included in the Homeland 
Security bill. The bill would restore the law requiring uniform anti-
terrorist training for all flight attendants.
  We took a great step forward in 2002. We should not have gone 
backwards to create a loophole in our aviation security.
  We cannot stop fighting terrorism. Well-trained flight attendants are 
key. We do not have enough air marshals on planes, and the 
Administration is slow-walking the guns in the cockpit program. We need 
to rely on our flight attendants now more than ever. We must ensure 
they get the training they need.
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