[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[October 9, 1996]
[Pages 1793-1795]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Signing the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996
October 9, 1996

    Thank you, Doug Smith, for your very moving remarks, for your 
recognition of the contributions of others, and for your own constant, 
brave efforts to help this day come to pass. And I thank all the family 
members who are here for your efforts to go beyond your own personal 
suffering to make something positive happen for our country in the 
future. Thank you, Madam

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Attorney General, for your strong support and your leadership in this 
regard; to OMB Director Raines; Congressman Duncan, thank you, sir, for 
your leadership, for the fine work you did; to the FAA Administrator, 
David Hinson, who is here.
    I'd like to say a special word of thanks to Admiral Edward 
Kristensen and Coast Guard Commander Ken Burgess, who supervised the 
recovery efforts for TWA 800. And I hope they will thank the Navy divers 
and the men and women of the Coast Guard who have worked so long and 
hard off Long Island. To Deputy Secretary Mort Downey of Transportation; 
Vice Chairman of the NTSB, Bob Francis. To all of you, thank you for 
being here.
    Today I am pleased to sign the Federal Aviation Administration's 
authorization bill that will address the concerns Doug Smith expressed 
so movingly. It will improve the security of air travel. It will carry 
forward our fight against terrorism.
    Last summer I met with the families of the victims of TWA Flight 
800, the cause of which we are still investigating. They told me, as Mr. 
Smith and others have said, that there should be a single place in the 
Federal Government, a specific office that has the responsibility and 
the capability to assist them in the wake of a tragedy. This bill gives 
the National Transportation Safety Board that task. The NTSB will be the 
sole authoritative agency so that families will know exactly where to go 
and who will speak for the Government when they have lost a loved one. 
The measure builds upon Secretary Pena's efforts to improve passenger 
manifests on international flights, a priority for families of victims.
    I thank the families for the tremendous work they have done to make 
these changes happen. And I thank Secretary Pena, who could not be here 
today because of another assignment he has undertaken for our 
administration.
    The bill I sign today will increase the safety of our Nation and our 
families by giving us more of the tools we need to fight terrorism. We 
have pursued a concerted strategy against terrorism on three fronts: 
First, working more closely than ever with our allies to build a 
coalition with zero tolerance for terrorism; second, by giving our own 
law enforcement officials the most powerful counterterrorism tools 
available; and third, by increasing security in our airports and on our 
airplanes. This bill is an outstanding example of how we can advance 
that strategy when we work together, Government and private citizens, 
the executive branch and Congress, Republicans and Democrats.
    After the TWA 800 disaster, I asked Vice President Gore and a 
commission of experts to examine all our aviation security practices and 
recommend improvements that would protect against terrorists or criminal 
attacks. On September 9th, 45 days after they began their work, the Vice 
President and his commission delivered their action plan. Today, exactly 
one month later, almost all of its recommendations will become the law 
of the land. I want to say a special word of thanks to the Vice 
President, who very much wanted to be here today and could not for 
obvious reasons, for the extraordinary work he has done on this and so 
many other issues.
    Because of this legislation and the budget bill I signed last week, 
we will install hundreds of state-of-the-art bomb detection scanners in 
our major airports to examine both checked and carry-on luggage. It will 
pay for a dramatic increase in FBI agents assigned to the Bureau's 
counterterrorism efforts. Now background and FBI fingerprint checks will 
become routine for airport and airline employees with access to security 
areas. And the Federal Aviation Administration will continue the bag 
match program for domestic flights at selected airports that were begun 
by my Executive order last month. We will increase inspection of mail 
and other international air cargo and expand the use of bomb-sniffing 
dogs. Because of these improvements, Americans will not only feel safer, 
they will be safer. America has the will and we are finding the ways to 
increase security against the terrorist threat on all fronts. We cannot 
make the world risk free, but we can reduce the risks we face.
    Beyond our efforts to improve aviation security, our new 
counterterrorism measures will also strengthen America's intelligence 
capabilities worldwide so that we can stop terrorists before they 
strike. We're improving security at both military and diplomatic 
facilities so that those who serve our Nation abroad are better 
protected. We are strengthening security at public sites here at home. 
And we are continually stepping up our law enforcement efforts with more 
agents and more prosecutors, after sending the message to terrorists 
that they will pay the full price for their deeds.
    With these steps we are helping to make Americans safer. This 
legislation is proof that

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if we work together and put the interests of real people first, we can 
meet the challenges of this era.
    I'd like to say on a personal note that I am especially grateful for 
the time and effort and stories that the family members of air tragedies 
have shared with me. And when I went to New York with Hillary to meet 
with the family members of the victims of TWA 800, a grandmother spoke 
to me movingly about how she had lost both her child--her daughter--and 
her grandson in that crash. And she gave me a picture of her 10-year-old 
grandson because of his particular attachment to the President and his 
desire to grow up to be in public life some day. I have carried that 
picture with me every single day until this day and the signing of this 
bill. And I hope that this legislation will mean more children will have 
the chance to live out their dreams.
    I'd like to ask Congressman Duncan, the Attorney General, and the 
family members to come up now as we sign the legislation.

Note: The President spoke at 10:20 a.m. in Room 450 of the Old Executive 
Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to Doug Smith, president, 
National Air Disaster Alliance. The President also referred to his 
receipt of the initial report of the White House Commission on Aviation 
Safety and Security on September 9. H.R. 3539, approved October 9, was 
assigned Public Law No. 104-264.