[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 95 (Wednesday, June 23, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5294-S5295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     NOMINATION OF JOHN S. PISTOLE

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the 
nomination of John S. Pistole to be Administrator of the Transportation 
Security Administration and talk about collective bargaining for TSA 
employees.
  The TSA has been without a Senate-confirmed leader for a year and a 
half. During the last 5 months, we have experienced two major 
transportation security incidents: the unsuccessful December 25 bombing 
of Northwest flight 253 and the near escape of the failed Times Square 
bomber. I welcome the President's nomination of a career FBI official 
with extensive counterterrorism experience, FBI Deputy Director John S. 
Pistole, to head the TSA. I look forward to the Senate's swift 
confirmation of Mr. Pistole for this critical position.
  During the confirmation hearings for Mr. Pistole, the issue of 
collective bargaining for TSA employees was raised. Mr. Pistole stated 
that he is going to study the issue, gather all the information he can 
from stakeholders, and make a recommendation to Secretary Napolitano.
  Some Members of Congress, however, are strongly opposed to collective 
bargaining for TSA employees. Their opposition is grounded in the 
concern that we need to adapt quickly and effectively to specific 
aviation threats. The underlying premise of this argument is that we 
must choose between protecting the Nation from threats to aviation and 
collective bargaining. This choice, however, is a false choice because 
national security and what I call smart collective bargaining are not 
mutually exclusive. Under smart collective bargaining agreements, if 
circumstances and true emergencies were to exist, TSA would be fully 
capable to deploy assets without there being any negative impact from 
the collective bargaining agreement.

  At his confirmation hearing, Mr. Pistole stated that ``we have to be 
able to surge resources at any time . . . not only nationwide but 
worldwide.'' I certainly agree. A smart collective bargaining agreement 
would enable us to do exactly that.
  Moreover, a smart collective bargaining agreement would enhance 
national security because it would enable TSA to recruit and retain 
veteran employees. Our Nation's history with labor unions teaches us 
that collective bargaining boosts morale and allows employees to have a 
voice in their workplace and increases stability and professionalism. 
On the other hand, poor workforce management can lead directly to high 
attrition, job dissatisfaction, and increased costs, which lead to gaps 
in aviation security. There have been reports that TSA has low worker 
morale, which can undermine the Agency's mission and our national 
security.
  The fact is, DHS, Customs and Border Patrol officers, some of whom 
work at the same airports as TSA employees, as well as employees of 
DHS's Federal Protection Services, and the Capitol Police all operate 
under collective bargaining agreements. Are members of the flying 
public less safe because the CPB officers, who work side-by-side with 
TSA employees, work under a collective bargaining agreement? I don't 
believe so, nor do I think my colleagues believe that. Are Members of 
Congress less safe because the Capitol Police work under a collective 
bargaining agreement? I have heard all my colleagues compliment the 
efficiency of our Capitol Police.
  As the late Senator Kennedy noted in August 2009 when he cosponsored 
a collective bargaining rights bill for public safety officers, 
tomorrow morning, thousands of State and local public safety officers, 
police officers, and firefighters will wake up and go to work to 
protect us. We should be there to help them. They will put their lives 
on the line responding to emergencies, policing neighborhoods, and 
protecting us in Maryland and communities all across the Nation. These 
dedicated public servants will patrol our streets and run into burning 
buildings to keep us safe. No one believes for a moment that we are 
less safe because they have secured collective bargaining rights.
  If opponents of collective bargaining for TSA employees want to 
invoke 9/11 to support their views, they will soon discover that the 
legacy of 9/11 shows clearly that national security will not be 
compromised by collective bargaining. It shows just the reverse. Those 
who helped us save lives during 9/11 were covered under collective 
bargaining rights. Before 9/11, the New York Port Authority police 
worked 8-hour days, 4 days on and 2 days off. By the end of the day on 
9/11, however, vacations and personal time were canceled and workers 
were switched to 12-hour tours, 7 days a week. Indeed, schedules did 
not return to normal for 3 years. The union did not file a grievance, 
and everyone recognized it was a real crisis.
  If there is any doubt about whether collective bargaining will 
enhance our ability to recruit and retain the best TSA employees to 
protect us, all we need to do is think about Donnie McIntyre, a Port 
Authority police officer, one of the many selfless heroes killed on 9/
11, and these memorable words written in the third stanza of ``America 
the Beautiful'' by Katherine Lee Bates:

       O beautiful for heroes proved, in liberating strife. Who 
     more than self, their country loved, and mercy more than 
     life.

  We learned about the story of Donnie McIntyre from his partner, Paul 
Nunziato, vice president of the New York Port Authority Police 
Benevolent Association. He testified before Congress in June of 2007 
regarding the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007, 
a bill almost identical to the amendment offered by Senator Reid.
  Donnie was one of the 37 port authority police officers who lost 
their lives on 9/11 at the World Trade Center evacuation effort. He was 
married with two children, and his wife Jeannie was pregnant with their 
third child when he died on September 11. While nothing will make up 
for the loss of Donnie to his family, Jeannie does not have to

[[Page S5295]]

worry about paying bills or providing health care for her children, 
largely because of the benefits the union negotiated for its members.
  Collective bargaining for TSA employees will not endanger national 
security. It will make us more safe. I urge colleagues to support 
collective bargaining for TSA employees. It will improve our ability to 
recruit and retain the best employees, like Donnie McIntyre and the 
countless other American heroes who work every day to protect us and 
keep us safe under collective bargaining agreements. Moreover, smart 
collective bargaining for TSA employees will increase stability and 
professionalism in the workplace and will dramatically reduce attrition 
rates, job dissatisfaction, and increased costs, which will enhance 
transportation security.
  I urge my colleagues to swiftly confirm John S. Pistole to be the TSA 
Director and to understand the importance of protecting all of our 
workers, particularly those who put their lives on the line for us, by 
giving them basic collective bargaining rights.
  With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa is recognized.
  (The remarks of Mr. Grassley pertaining to the submission of S. Res. 
562 are printed in today's Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Since I do not see any other Members present to speak, I suggest the 
absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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