[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 74 (Tuesday, June 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S6168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. BOXER (for herself and Mr. Schumer):
  S. 1193. A bill to direct the Assistant Secretary of Homeland 
Security for the Transportation Security Administration to issue 
regulations requiring turbojet aircraft of air carriers to be equipped 
with missile defense systems, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today I am reintroducing the Commercial 
Airline Missile Defense Act. This legislation is designed to ensure 
that our commercial aircraft are protected against the threat posed by 
shoulder-fired missiles.
  I first introduced this legislation in February 2003 in response to 
two separate attacks attributed to al Qaeda terrorists. The first 
attack was the attempted shoot down of a U.S. military aircraft in 
Saudi Arabia. The second attack was against an Israeli passenger jet in 
Kenya. Fortunately, there were no casualties in either case.
  But make no mistake, the threat posed by these weapons--also known as 
man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS)--is very real. In May 2002, 
the FBI said, ``. . . Given al Qaeda's demonstrated objective to target 
the U.S. airline industry, its access to U.S. and Russian-made MANPAD 
systems, and recent apparent targeting of U.S.-led military forces in 
Saudi Arabia, law enforcement agencies in the United States should 
remain alert to the potential use of MANPADS against U. S. aircraft.''
  In February 2004, the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, 
Admiral Lowell Jacoby, testified before the Senate Intelligence 
Committee on current and projected national security threats. He stated 
the following: ``A MANPAD attack against civilian aircraft would 
produce large number of casualties, international publicity and a 
significant economic impact on aviation. These systems are highly 
portable, easy to conceal, inexpensive, available in the global weapons 
market and instruction manuals are on the internet. Commercial aircraft 
are not equipped with countermeasures and commercial pilots are not 
trained in evasive measures. An attack could occur with little or no 
warning. Terrorists may attempt to capitalize on these 
vulnerabilities.''
  It is estimated that there are between 300,000 and one million 
shoulder-fired missiles in the world today--thousands are thought to be 
in the hands of terrorist and other non-state entities.
  Since I first introduced my legislation in 2003, progress has been 
made in adapting countermeasures now being used by the military for use 
on commercial aircraft. A special program office has been created 
within the Department of Homeland Security that is working to 
demonstrate and test two prototype countermeasure systems. Flight 
testing is scheduled to begin in a matter of weeks.
  This legislation, which I am again introducing with my primary 
cosponsor, Senator Schumer, states that the installation of 
countermeasure systems on commercial aircraft will begin no later than 
6 months after the Secretary of Homeland Security certifies that the 
countermeasure system has successfully completed a program of 
operational test and evaluation.
  We need to continue to move forward to ensure that commercial 
aircraft are protected from the threat posed by shoulder-fired 
missiles. I appreciate the hard work of my colleague in the House, 
Congressman Steve Israel, who is a real leader on this issue.
  I hope my colleagues will support this important legislation.

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