[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 21537-21538]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             AIRLINE SECURITY PERSONNEL: FEDERAL OR PRIVATE

  Mr. THOMAS. Madam President, on another item I want to comment on 
that I have heard quite a bit about, the House passed last night the 
airport security bill, and I am glad they finally did. Of course, the 
big controversial issue was whether or not those personnel that are in 
airports would be Federal employees or whether they would be civilians 
overseen by a Federal agency.

[[Page 21538]]

  First of all, often, particularly in the media, there has been the 
impression that we either have Federal employees or continue to do it 
the way it is being done.
  That is not the case. What is being talked about, if it is done 
without Federal employees, is the Federal Government would have 
oversight and the authority to authorize these kinds of activities; 
they would be overseen by a Federal agency, hopefully a law enforcement 
agency. There would be criteria for employees, there would be tests for 
employees, there would be measurements to be taken, all enforced by the 
Federal Government. The idea that would continue to be what it is, 
unless it is Federal employees, is not true.
  The other interesting point is there has been a lot of reference, 
both by the media and also by the Members in the House pushing for 
Federal employees, to it passing 100-0 in the Senate. It did, indeed, 
but the reason is there are lots of things in that bill in addition to 
the matter of what kind of employees we have for airport security. Many 
Members would have preferred to have seen what the House put in, but we 
knew we did not have the votes. We wanted to pass the bill because of 
what it contained. The idea that it passed 100-0 does not mean there 
are not people in the Senate who would like to see this done in the 
manner as passed by the House.
  As we go to a conference, I hope we can do that quickly. That is one 
of the most important and timely things to do.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.

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