[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 189 (Tuesday, December 11, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H15270-H15273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ADDRESSING VULNERABILITIES IN AVIATION SECURITY
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1413) to direct the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security
(Transportation Security Administration) to address vulnerabilities in
aviation security by carrying out a pilot program to screen airport
workers with access to secure and sterile areas of airports, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1413
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ENHANCED PERIMETER SECURITY AND ACCESS CONTROL
THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE SCREENING OF AIRPORT
WORKERS.
(a) Pilot Program.--Not later than 120 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary of
Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration)
shall carry out a pilot program at 7 service airports to
screen all individuals with unescorted access to secure and
sterile areas of the airport in accordance with section
44903(h) of title 49, United States Code.
(b) Participating Airports.--At least 2 of the airports
participating in the pilot program shall be large hub
airports (as defined in section 40102 of title 49, United
States Code). At least 1 of the airports participating in the
pilot program shall be a category III airport. Each of the
remaining airports participating in the pilot program shall
represent a different airport security risk category (as
defined by the Assistant Secretary).
(c) Screening Standards.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided under paragraphs (2)
and (3), screening for individuals with unescorted access
under the pilot program shall be conducted under the same
standards as apply to passengers at airport security
screening checkpoints and, at a minimum of 1 airport, shall
be carried out by a private screening company that meets the
standards in accordance with section 44920(d) of title 49,
United States Code. That airport shall be an airport that
uses such a private screening company to carry out passenger
screenings as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) Designated screening lane.--In addition to the
requirements under paragraph (1), each airport participating
in the pilot program shall designate at least one screening
lane at each airport security screening checkpoint to be used
to screen individuals with unescorted access on a priority
basis under the pilot program. Such lane may also be used to
screen passengers.
(3) Alternative means of screening.--At 1 of the 7 airports
participating in the pilot program, the Assistant Secretary
shall deploy, instead of the screening standards required
under paragraphs (1) and (2), alternative means of screening
all individuals with unescorted access to secure and sterile
areas of the airport. Alternative means of screening may
include--
(A) biometric technology for airport access control;
(B) behavior recognition programs;
(C) canines to screen individuals with unescorted access to
secure and sterile areas of the airport;
(D) targeted physical inspections of such individuals;
(E) video cameras; and
(F) increased vetting, training, and awareness programs for
such individuals.
[[Page H15271]]
(d) Vulnerability Assessments.--As part of the pilot
program under this section, the Assistant Secretary shall
conduct a vulnerability assessment of each airport
participating in the pilot program. Each such assessment
shall include an assessment of vulnerabilities relating to
access badge and uniform controls.
(e) Technology Assessments.--Airport operators at each
airport at which the pilot program under this section is
implemented shall conduct an assessment of the screening
technology being used at that airport and submit the results
of the assessment to the Assistant Secretary. The Assistant
Secretary shall compile the results of all the assessments
and provide them to each airport participating in the pilot
program.
(f) Operational Assessments.--As part of the pilot program
under this section, the Assistant Secretary shall conduct an
operational assessment at each airport participating in the
pilot program. Each such assessment shall include an
evaluation of--
(1) the effect on security of any increase in terminal
congestion created as a result of screening individuals with
unescorted access under the pilot program;
(2) the average wait times at screening checkpoints for
passengers and individuals with unescorted access;
(3) any additional personnel required to screen individuals
with unescorted access;
(4) the effect of screening individuals with unescorted
access on other security-related activities at the airport;
(5) any lost productivity of individuals with unescorted
access associated with airport participation in the pilot
program; and
(6) the rate at which ``prohibited items'' are detected and
confiscated from individuals with unescorted access.
(g) Duration.--The pilot program shall be carried out for a
period of not less than 180 days.
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out
this section.
(i) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the last day
of the pilot program, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to
the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate a report on the results of the
pilot program.
(2) Contents of report.--The report shall include the
following:
(A) An assessment of the effect of screening all airport
workers with access to secure and sterile airport areas on
screening and logistical resources.
(B) An assessment of the security improvements that are
achieved from screening such workers.
(C) An assessment of the costs of screening such workers.
(D) The results of the vulnerability assessments conducted
under subsection (d).
(E) An estimate of the infrastructure and personnel
requirements necessary to implement a screening program for
individuals with unescorted access at all commercial service
airports in the United States in order to process each such
individual and each passenger through each screening
checkpoint in fewer than 10 minutes.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
New York (Mrs. Lowey) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ginny
Brown-Waite) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.
General Leave
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
on this bill and include therein any extraneous material.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1413 creates a pilot program screening airport
workers at seven airports. Screening passengers but giving workers open
access is like installing a home security system but leaving the back
door open. We know criminal activity has resulted from this loophole
and we cannot take a chance that terrorists will exploit it. H.R. 1413
is a bipartisan approach to ensure security at our airports, and I urge
my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
I rise in strong support of H.R. 1413, legislation sponsored by my
good friend and fellow New Yorker, Nita Lowey, and me that seeks to
close an important loophole in the airport security program.
Since 9/11, Congress and the airline industry have taken strong
affirmative actions to tighten security at our Nation's airports.
However, one of the few areas of security that has grown unchanged
since the horrific events of 9/11 is airport workers screening. While
airline passengers are searched from head to foot before we board a
plane or reach the gate, most airports do not screen 100 percent of
their employees when entering into secure areas.
Earlier this year at the Orlando International Airport just outside
my congressional district, airport employees were able to smuggle
loaded weapons onto a plane bound for Puerto Rico. This significant
breach in security could have been avoided with 100 percent screening
of airport workers. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the employees'
intent was not to incite terror. However, had those guns been used to
hijack a plane to commit a larger terrorist act, I am confident that we
would have 100 percent screening at all our airports and that would
already be in place as we speak.
Let's not wait for such an attack to occur before we take action.
H.R. 1413 will create a pilot program for TSA to test the plausibility
of screening of all airport workers at seven airports. While some have
objected to the 100 percent worker screening in principle, they have no
broad federally operated test case upon which to base this opinion. The
value of this pilot project is that it allows TSA to evaluate
thoroughly the strengths and weaknesses of 100 percent airport worker
screening on a small scale. While no one wants more bureaucracy for
bureaucracy's sake, we do need to protect the traveling public.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my
time.
Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the
gentleman from Florida from the airport that, I might add, does have
100 percent screening.
Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, I had the honor and
privilege of chairing the House Aviation Subcommittee for some 6 years.
I inherited that responsibility some months after September 11 and
concluded my service as the Chair of that important subcommittee
January of this year. I now am the ranking member on the Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee.
Just by way of my background, I have been involved in both the
creation of TSA and the evolution of TSA over these years, and, trying
to make certain, as I know Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite is doing,
Representative Nita Lowey is trying to do, and I think they are very
well intended and actually I hope to work with them, I just found out
about this proposal coming up today last night, and I do pledge to work
with them to try to make their intent the most effective intent,
protecting the American public. And I know that is what Ms. Ginny
Brown-Waite does. That is her intent. And I think that is Mrs. Lowey's
intent here.
But what we have got to do is make certain that we aren't doing
something that really won't achieve the results. And I think the normal
screening of workers, as it has been done as we screen passengers,
would not be that effective. So I have no objection to a demonstration
project, but I think what we need is one that is sophisticated to try
to deal with finding out what the bad intent of supposedly good
aviation system workers may be.
{time} 1645
Most of what we have at the airport today, I hate to tell you, the
technology does not deal with the current threat. The current threat is
not someone taking a gun or a weapon, as we traditionally know it,
through airport screening checkpoints. In fact, USA Today has shown
even how flawed this system is, in revealing some of the results of
taking through not only those type items but also other items that may
pose a risk today.
The problem we have is people with bad intent who obtain employment
in this industry can do great harm. What we need to do is focus the
screening on going after that bad intent, because once they get past
the worker screening or passenger screening point, a worker has access
to chemicals, substances, tools, a treasure trove of items that can be
used to take down an aircraft, and that is what we want to prevent.
So I am not going to try to kill this measure. That is not my intent.
In fact, I didn't come out here to call for
[[Page H15272]]
a roll call vote on this. But what I would like to do is work with them
to see that their intent, which is to make certain that workers who may
pose danger to the system, we find a way to screen them that would be
most effective in protecting our passengers.
The worst thing we can do, and I will tell you this, I helped create
the Department of Homeland Security, I helped author the TSA bill. But
TSA and the Department of Homeland Security is 177,000 employees. I
compare it to sort of like pigeons you may see in a plaza, and when
Congress claps its hands, they will all fly off in whatever direction
we send them, but it may not always be the best-intended.
I give you one final example. We ban lighters from being carried
onboard aircraft. We ban lighters, but we didn't ban cell phones or
cameras with a battery. Here's my cell phone. This is much more
dangerous as an ignition electronic device than any lighter that you
can carry onboard.
So sometimes we do things here with good intentions, like the lighter
ban, but they may not have the results we would like to achieve. So I
came here to tell both of the sponsors I appreciate what they are
trying to do, but I think we can take and craft their demonstration
project into a demonstration project that truly screens workers in a
way that will be beneficial to catch the potentially bad players and
that we can make this system safer.
So I compliment you on your well-intended efforts. I pledge to work
with you, and we will take it from there.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his wisdom and for
his willingness to work with us. I have no more speakers, and I urge
the Members to support this critical legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted Mr.
Mica does want to work with us. Certainly, the type of screening he is
talking about, where we are able to determine or hopefully determine
the intent of the workers coming in, is a very good one. But I think we
also need to be very vigilant to make sure that they are not bringing
in suitcase bombs in what may look like a worker's toolbox.
This situation was actually brought to my attention by TSA workers
who, at one of the airports that I was at, said to me, You know, we
have to screen you, but would you believe people are coming in the back
door without any kind of screening at all, other than a swipe card?
These are people who may work at the airport; they work at the
concession stands. And certainly the TSA workers are screened, Members
of Congress are screened, candidates for President are screened when
they go through the airport, but imagine this, that individuals are
coming in the back door with just a swipe card.
We need to make sure that money is well spent, I agree with Mr. Mica,
and I think that what we need is a variety of ways to deter any acts of
terrorism, and that clearly is what this pilot program is all about. I
look forward to working with Mr. Mica and being able to utilize his
many years of experience on this.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong
support of H.R. 1413.
H.R. 1413 was introduced by Representatives Lowey and Brown-Waite to
establish a pilot program to test the viability of physically screening
airport workers at seven (7) airports. I am pleased to report that this
bipartisan bill, as amended in Committee, not only requires TSA to test
physical screening but also alternative forms of screening, including:
biometrics, behavior recognition, and canine teams.
Consideration of H.R. 1413 is timely in light of the October 2007
arrest of 10 airline employees for operating a drug smuggling ring at
John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The ring leader
allegedly directed JFK airport employees from inside the airport on how
to move heroin and cocaine into so-called ``safe areas'' of the
airport.
Mr. Speaker, most people that work in our nation's airports are
hardworking, trustworthy people who pose no threat to the traveling
public. However, in a post-9/11 world, we have to address the risk of
an ``inside job''--where an attack is planned and executed by an
airport worker who exploits security gaps. H.R. 1413 does just that.
H.R. 1413 does so in a manner that strives to assure that that people
that keep the planes flying are able to do their job. Specifically,
H.R. 1413 creates a 180-day pilot program where all the people that
access the terminal and the airplanes, not just the American Flying
Public, are screened.
To those who think this can't be done, I'm here to tell you ``it can
be done.'' They do it at London's Heathrow airport. They do it at
DeGaulle Airport in Paris. I understand that there are those who don't
want us to look at this approach. But in a post-9/11 world, failing to
do so is just plain wrong.
Under the leadership of Subcommittee Chairwoman Jackson-Lee, H.R.
1413 was agreed to ``as amended,'' on April 24th by voice vote. The
full committee considered, voted and reported favorably on August 1. I
strongly urge passage of this bill that takes a reasonable approach to
exploring how to better secure our airports, airplanes and travelers.
Mrs. Lowey and Ms. Brown-Waite are to be commended for their
leadership on this critical legislation. I look forward to continuing
to work with the bills sponsors and other interested parties to ensure
that TSA structures the pilot in a manner that provides Congress with
the best guidance on how to address this gap in security. I strongly
urge passage on this important homeland security measure.
Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of
H.R. 1413, to direct the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security
(Transportation Security Administration) to address vulnerabilities in
aviation security by carrying out a pilot program to screen airport
workers with access to secure and sterile areas of airports, introduced
by my distinguished colleague from New York, Representative Lowey. As a
member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Chair of the
Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure Protect, I believe
that this important piece of legislation, of which I am a proud
cosponsor, is absolutely imperative for insuring the protection of our
nation.
Today, aviation security is high on the list of priorities of air
travelers, the Federal Government, and the international air community.
Since September 11th we have made many improvements in the security of
our nation's transportation infrastructure. However our job is far from
over, whether it's more improvements to be made or gaps to close. In
matters of security, we must not become complacent--as our enemies
adapt, so must we. And we did, we now have a federal screening
workforce, we screen 100 percent of the checked baggage, we are in the
process of moving to 100 percent screening of air cargo and we are
constantly trying to find new technology to help all of these
functions. In addition we armed pilots and barricaded the cabin door,
still there is much more that needs to be done and this legislation is
an important step in the direction of making our nation more secure.
This important legislation includes a number of provisions that will
make American airports safer by directing the Assistant Secretary of
Homeland Security to implement a number of new programs. In this day
and age when Presidential candidates and Members of Congress must go
through airport security and screening, it is unfathomable that airport
employees with access to sterile areas of the airport are still excused
from such screening. This legislation calls for the implementation of a
pilot program at five commercial service airports that will screen all
airport workers with access to sterile areas of the airport. This
program calls for screening of airport employees to be conducted under
the same standards as apply to passengers at security screening
checkpoints and to be carried out by private screeners at a designated
screening lane for their exclusive use at a minimum of two airports.
This will ensure that airport employees are held to the same standards
as all other people wishing to enter an airport. In order to further
ensure security, this bill requires that each airport participating in
said program is subject to a vulnerability assessment by the Department
of Homeland Security.
An endemic problem in the national security system is the lack of
specificity of legislation that is meant to secure our nation's
airports. This bill escapes that by specifying that at least two of the
participating airports be large hub airports, with the remaining
airports representing different airport security risk categories,
therefore ensuring a holistic assessment of our airports current
security risks. This legislation further specifies that each
participating airport operator conduct an assessment of the screening
technology used at the airport and to submit the results to the
Assistant Secretary. Following this comprehensive program, the United
States will be able to better assess the real security of its nation's
airports.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to cosponsor H.R. 1413 and I call on my
colleagues to support this important piece of legislation because I
strongly believe that it will strengthen our nation's efforts to
confront the existing vulnerabilities our current airport security
system and consequently make our nation more secure.
Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the
balance of my time.
[[Page H15273]]
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 1413, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title was amended so as to read: ``A bill to direct the Assistant
Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration)
to address vulnerabilities in aviation security by carrying out a pilot
program to screen airport workers with access to secure and sterile
areas of airports, and for other purposes.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________