[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20645]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  95 PERCENT OF BAGS IN BELLY OF AIRPLANE NOT SCREENED FOR EXPLOSIVE 
                                DEVICES

  (Mr. INSLEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, this is the 43rd straight day that the 
Republican leadership of this House has blocked any votes doing any 
single thing to keep our airplanes from being hijacked or blown out of 
the sky. Imagine that. We are being sent home to our district for a 4-
day weekend instead of voting here to do something about airline 
safety.
  Mr. Speaker, I want my colleagues to think about this. When Members 
get on airplanes this afternoon or tomorrow morning, 95 percent of the 
bags in the belly of the airplane have not been screened in any way for 
an explosive device. Yet we have been blocked from having a vote on 
this or any airline safety issues for 43 days from an ideological 
hesitancy to allow the House to work its will. The Democrats are not 
blocking anything. The Democrats are in the minority. We are asking the 
Republican leadership to bring this bill to the floor. Let us have a 
vote and let us do something for airline security. After 43 days, it is 
high time.

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