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65–851 PDF 2011

BIOMETRIC IDs FOR PILOTS 

AND TRANSPORTATION WORKERS: 

DIARY OF FAILURES 

(112–26) 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

TRANSPORTATION AND 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

APRIL 14, 2011 

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

( 

Available online at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/ 

committee.action?chamber=house&committee=transportation 

COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

JOHN L. MICA, Florida, Chairman 

DON YOUNG, Alaska 

THOMAS E. PETRI, Wisconsin 

HOWARD COBLE, North Carolina 

JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee 

FRANK A. LOBIONDO, New Jersey 

GARY G. MILLER, California 

TIMOTHY V. JOHNSON, Illinois 

SAM GRAVES, Missouri 

BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania 

SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia 

JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio 

CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan 

DUNCAN HUNTER, California 

ANDY HARRIS, Maryland 

ERIC A. ‘‘RICK’’ CRAWFORD, Arkansas 

JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER, Washington 

FRANK C. GUINTA, New Hampshire 

RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois 

LOU BARLETTA, Pennsylvania 

CHIP CRAVAACK, Minnesota 

BLAKE FARENTHOLD, Texas 

LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana 

BILLY LONG, Missouri 

BOB GIBBS, Ohio 

PATRICK MEEHAN, Pennsylvania 

RICHARD L. HANNA, New York 

STEPHEN LEE FINCHER, Tennessee 

JEFFREY M. LANDRY, Louisiana 

STEVE SOUTHERLAND II, Florida 

JEFF DENHAM, California 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

VACANCY 

NICK J. RAHALL II, West Virginia 

PETER A. DEFAZIO, Oregon 

JERRY F. COSTELLO, Illinois 

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of 

Columbia 

JERROLD NADLER, New York 

CORRINE BROWN, Florida 

BOB FILNER, California 

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas 

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland 

LEONARD L. BOSWELL, Iowa 

TIM HOLDEN, Pennsylvania 

RICK LARSEN, Washington 

MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts 

TIMOTHY H. BISHOP, New York 

MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California 

DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois 

MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii 

JASON ALTMIRE, Pennsylvania 

TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota 

HEATH SHULER, North Carolina 

STEVE COHEN, Tennessee 

LAURA RICHARDSON, California 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

DONNA F. EDWARDS, Maryland 

(II) 

(III) 

CONTENTS Page 

Summary of Subject Matter .................................................................................... iv 

TESTIMONY 

Furlani, Cita M., Director, Information Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce .................... 5 

Gilligan, Margaret, Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, Federal Aviation Administration .............................................................................................. 5 

PREPARED STATEMENTS SUBMITTED BY WITNESSES 

Furlani, Cita M. ....................................................................................................... 22 

Gilligan, Margaret ................................................................................................... 30 

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(1) 

BIOMETRIC IDs FOR PILOTS 

AND TRANSPORTATION WORKERS: 

DIARY OF FAILURES 

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE, WASHINGTON, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 

2253, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. John L. Mica (Chairman of the committee) presiding. 

Mr. MICA. I would like to call this hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to order this morning. I 

welcome you. This is an Oversight and Investigations hearing that 

will focus on the issue of the use of biometric credentials for airline 

pilots and other transportation workers. And this is, again, part of 

our investigations and oversight of our committee, and being handled this morning at the full committee level. And I appreciate the 

participation of other Members this morning. I think we will be 

joined by a few more. There are conflicting schedules; I apologize 

for the delay in beginning this. We had our governor in town, so 

we ended up with a triple booking this morning, and I appreciate 

everyone’s courtesy in allowing us to start a little bit late this 

morning. 

The topic and—the order of business will be opening statements 

by Members, and then we will go to our witnesses. And if anyone 

would like to submit comments or additional information to the 

record, without objection that will be so ordered. 

Again, the purpose for us being here this morning is to review 

the progress and sometimes the lack of progress in producing a pilot’s license that has both information that identifies the pilot in 

a manner that we prescribed some time ago—I think 6 or 7 years 

ago—by law. At that particular juncture, when we found the pilot’s 

license looked like it sort of came out of a Cracker Jack box, it was 

just a little folded piece of paper, could easily be duplicated, we 

passed a law that said we should have a biometric measure, we 

should have a photograph, and that we should have a durable identification card. That was enacted by law some time ago, and we 

still don’t have that particular card available. 

Do we have a copy of one of the—may I? If you want to bring 

that up here, and maybe just put it in front, this is what we have 

ended up with, is—here, let me just take this, here. You can see, 

again, the only pilots that are on the license that has been produced at millions of taxpayer dollars, the only pilots on the license 

that is now in use is—happened to be Wilbur and Orville Wright. 

2 

And the back of this particular license has a metallic strip. And, 

unfortunately, it does not have the biometric capability that we 

asked for in law. 

So, they spent millions of dollars in producing this pilot’s license 

that, again, does not meet what we believe is required by law, and 

does not provide us with identification. And although we do not 

have anyone from TSA here today to testify, in fact, TSA will not 

accept this as an identification card. What is even more disturbing is we spent about $420 million, we 

will be approaching half-a-billion dollars on producing a transportation worker identification card. We have passed in law requirements on a number of occasions, and I believe at least four times 

into Federal law, the production of a transportation identification 

card that would have a biometric measure, capable of having several measures, both thumbprint, iris, and then also, of course, a 

photograph of the transportation worker. 

Having spent nearly a half-a-billion dollars on this, we have produced a card. They have been distributed. We do have biometric capability, we do have a photograph. However, we do not have a 

reader, and we have yet to establish a standard or agree on a 

standard for a biometric measure of iris. 

So, in both of the programs, while the pilot license is almost a 

complete disaster, what concerns me is that TSA has now embarked on two programs, one in, I think, 2007—one was a crew access program, and—creating several pilot programs working, I 

think probably with good intentions, with some of the pilot associations. But in 2007 they worked on CrewPASS and in 2010 the administrator announced his intent to expand a new program, and 

that is Known Crewmember, to seven airports at the end of last 

year. 

So, we have a pilot’s license that TSA will not accept as identification, it doesn’t meet the criteria set forth in law. We have a 

transportation worker—and we spent millions of dollars on that— 

we have a transportation worker identification card which is in use 

now, but we don’t have the use or acceptable reader, nor do we 

have iris standard developed. So, that is where we find ourselves. 

I am disappointed that TSA again has declined this committee’s 

invitation to testify on their action and their current work in developing a biometric crewmember credential and pilot’s license. I don’t 

believe that the industry should be responsible for setting a standard or developing a pass that should be—that would be used and 

would be acceptable. I believe that is clearly the responsibility of 

the Federal Government, and something that we have attempted to 

do by law. 

Now, since TSA has decided not to show up here today, I have 

consulted with the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee 

and also with an investigative panel on which I also serve, and I 

can assure you that we will have TSA testifying, either at a joint 

future hearing with one of those two committees to, again, try to 

get some responsiveness from an agency that, for some reason, does 

not want to respond, nor participate in developing an identification 

card, both for transportation workers or for pilots or for the many 

individuals who are involved in transportation work and do so in 

a cost-effective and timely manner. 

3 

So, that is where we find ourselves today. Very disappointed. A 

huge amount of taxpayer money has been expended. You would 

think that we could also have some better response from the agency that is primarily charged with this. 

Come on in, Mr. Farenthold. We can put Members right up here, 

too. We are a little squeezed for space today, but those arriving a 

little bit late will get the front row. We haven’t used this hearing 

room too much because, again, the size of the committee. But we 

have—every bit of space in the Capitol that we, I think, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has available is being 

used today. 

Mr. Boswell, come up and join us up here. And staff is welcome 

to just put a chair up here. I want to make sure all of our Members 

are accommodated. 

But again, I thank the Members for joining us today. I wish it 

could be under different circumstances, and we could have the cooperation of TSA, but we do not have it today. But we will get it 

in the future, as I said, one way or the other. 

With that, I would like to recognize any other Members for opening statements. Mr. Long? Mr. Cravaack? 

Mr. CRAVAACK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for all 

the people that have come out today. This is a very important 

issue, and kind of near and dear to my heart, so I appreciate you 

coming here today. 

I would like to welcome the witnesses on our panel. I look forward to hearing your testimony regarding the FAA and TSA’s biometric transportation credential efforts. I am very disappointed 

that TSA is not here today. I had some very pointed questions that 

I wanted to ask them, and I am very disappointed they are—for 

them not being here today. 

As you know, the United States transportation system remains 

a target and a means through which the terrorists seek to attack 

our homeland. I appreciate your efforts taken in the wake of 9/11 

to protect our transportation system from attack. A number of bills 

have been enacted to direct a cost-effective, risk-based approach in 

protecting our credentialing system. 

To date, a number of our statutory directives requiring the 

issuance of biometric credentials have not been implemented, or 

have been partially implemented. To me, this is very disappointing. 

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about what is presently being done to comply with the law, and why there has been 

such a delay to this point. I thank you again, and I look forward 

to hearing your testimony, and I yield back, sir. 

Mr. MICA. Thank you. And I would like to recognize any other 

Members that may have opening statements. You are recognized, 

Mr. Landry. 

Mr. LANDRY. Thank you. It is good to be so close to you all. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. LANDRY. I thank the Chairman for calling this hearing 

today. I certainly want to ensure that our transportation system is 

as secure as possible. Every day our transportation system moves 

more than 1.4 million shipments of hazardous materials, any of 

which could potentially be used to harm Americans. Securing all 

4 

this cargo is daunting. No one doubts that fact. But it is also 

achievable. 

Unfortunately, some of our security interests—security entities 

have lost sight of an important part of the transportation security 

system feasibility. I wish that the Transportation Security Administration had accepted our invitation to come to today’s hearing, because they need to hear this. Right now, TSA is worried about their 

own feasibility, what is easiest for them. I think that TSA needs 

to worry more about what is feasible for the worker. 

To me, TSA’s requirement that a worker—for a worker to make 

two visits to the TWIC enrollment center, one to enroll for their 

TWIC card and another to pick up the card is the definition of an 

unnecessary burden. Now, I know that TSA has said that a TWIC 

card must meet the FIPS 201 standard, and must be in the worker’s possession at all times, and I know that the soon-to-be-released 

GAO report will probably say that mailing is not an option, but 

what about other solutions? Are we honestly telling transportation 

workers, ‘‘Sorry, guys, your government has thought long and hard 

about this situation and the entire universe of possible solutions we 

have been able to brainstorm, and all we can come up with is to 

get’’—I am sorry—‘‘we have been able to brainstorm is you come 

to get the card or we mail it to you, and our accountant tells us 

that the last one is no good,’’ meaning mailing it to you. 

Come on. We are all smart people here. We can figure out a way 

that the worker does not have to make a second trip just to pick 

up the card. For some TWIC workers, this means a trip of hundreds of miles, and they have to make this trip twice. We need to 

do better than that. 

I also have another issue with the TWIC card. Recently a company in my district got in trouble with DHS because they did not 

have I–9’s on file for all of its employees, even though the company 

had a record of all of these employees’ driver’s licenses, birth certificates, Coast Guard licenses, and a TWIC card. Considering the 

fact that everyone would have to have—considering the fact that 

everything one would have to have to secure a TWIC card is at 

least that stringent, if not more stringent, than the information one 

needs to secure an I–9, can’t we change the law to ensure that a 

TWIC card can serve as an I–9, thereby lessening the paperwork 

that companies such as the one in my district are required to comply with? 

Again, I wish that the TSA were here to address these issues, 

but I do not know—but I do know they are watching this hearing. 

So I just wanted to put them on notice about the concerns on the 

TWIC card. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. MICA. Thank you. Any other Members seek recognition? 

[No response.] 

Mr. MICA. Well, again, the order of business will be we will turn 

to our witnesses. And, as you can see, Mr. Pistole has the—the administrator of TSA—has refused to appear. It also concerns me 

that Mr. John Schwartz, who is the TWIC program manager, 

transportation worker identification credential program manager 

of—and he is with the Department of Homeland Security—has also 

refused to appear before the committee today. 

5 

For those Members who have joined us just lately, we are consulting with both the Homeland Security Committee, Oversight 

and Government Reform Investigative Committee, and we will 

have them appear one way or the other, either in a joint hearing 

or through the other committees. Because, again, I thought it was 

not unreasonable for us to ask them to comment on this. 

And since they now are involved in two pilot—have been involved 

in two pilot programs to develop pilot licenses and—or identification cards that they would be using in lieu of a pilot’s license, and 

we are producing a pilot’s license at great public cost, I thought the 

least that they could do is come and provide us with a status of 

both of those programs: TWIC, which is the transportation worker 

identification card; and the pilot’s license issue. 

We also tried to meet with them behind closed doors. The intent 

of the committee’s work is not to embarrass any agency. And we 

did conduct a meeting. Some of you participated in that behind 

closed doors. And we, unfortunately, had the same response and 

unwillingness to work with the committee from TSA. So I can say 

to all the Members they are not building a very good strong warm, 

fuzzy relationship in their effort to assist us. 

And I know they have been distracted this week. If you just 

watch television and—you see the current issues of an agency that 

is struggling to gain control of itself and its important security mission. 

So with that being said, we are pleased to have two witnesses 

this morning who can shed some highlights and review with the 

committee the progress both of the pilot’s license, which was mandated by law, prescribed by law to FAA, and they had undertaken 

that mission with some difficulty, as we learned in both the closed 

door meeting, and we will hear more about today. So we have 

Peggy Gilligan, who is associate administrator for the—for aviation 

security of FAA. And Ms. Cita Furlani, the director of Information 

Technology Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology, who sets some of the standards that are required for 

these identification documents. 

So, with that, maybe we could—I could recognize first Ms. 

Gilligan, and you could give us sort of a history of the problems we 

have encountered with the pilot’s license and also the status of 

where we are going from here. 

So, welcome, and you are recognized. 

TESTIMONY OF MARGARET GILLIGAN, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR AVIATION SAFETY, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION; AND CITA M. FURLANI, DIRECTOR, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF 

STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Chairman 

Mica, Congressman Rahall, and members of the committee. I want 

to thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today on the 

issue of embedding biometric identifiers on pilot certificates. 

I know that this issue has been of significant interest to you, Mr. 

Chairman, because, as you mentioned, we have had several meetings on the topic. In these meetings, it has been clear that FAA has 

6 

not acted as directed by this committee, not as quickly nor as comprehensively as intended. But I would like to outline what FAA has 

done in the area, and how we intend to move forward. 

The purpose of the pilot certificate for many years was simply to 

document that the holder met the required aeronautical knowledge 

and experience standards to fly an airplane. For decades, paper 

certificates worked effectively for that intended purpose. 

Starting in the late 1980s, law enforcement agencies, with mandates other than aviation safety, began to see potential misuse of 

pilot certificates as they engaged in activities related to the war 

against drugs. In 1988, the Drug Enforcement Assistance Act required FAA to phase out paper certificates and replace them with 

tamper-resistant certificates. As of April 2010, all pilots have received enhanced plastic certificates. Those certificates were at a 

cost of $2.7 million for all of the 700,000 pilots that we have in our 

registry. We continue to replace certificates for mechanics, dispatchers, and other certificate holders, and those will be completed 

by March of 2013. 

Mr. Chairman, I know you question the value of our new certificates, but I can assure you that the colors, holograms, and even the 

images of Orville and Wilbur Wright have made it very difficult for 

our new certificates to be forged. 

After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, with aviation playing such a central role in the disaster, additional risks were identified for pilot certificates. In October 2002, we required all pilots to 

carry a government-issued photo ID any time they were exercising 

their pilot privileges. This way, any FAA inspector who asked for 

pilot credentials, and every fixed-base operator who leased an aircraft, could confirm the person’s identity, as well as their qualifications to fly. 

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 

imposed additional requirements on the certificate, beyond just 

being tamper-resistant. It called for a photograph and that it be capable of accommodating a digital photo or other biometric identifiers. We did not act right away. We did not act quickly. Without 

any experience in the area of—— 

Mr. MICA. If I could interrupt the witness for just a second, some 

of the Members came in late, and Mr. Boswell just gave us his pilot’s license. And, as you just heard the witness testify, Congress 

required that there be a photo on the ID, a biometric measure, and 

it be durable. Well, the license that was produced actually meets 

one of those requirements. It is durable. The only pilots to appear 

on the license that was issued—and this is Mr. Boswell—is Wilbur 

and Orville Wright. And although I guess he looks a little bit like 

Wilbur—— 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. MICA. This is the ID that millions of dollars has produced. 

And the biometric strip, or the metallic strip here, does not have 

the biometric capability that was required in law. 

So, thank you for loaning us this. And it is Exhibit A. We had 

another one here, but you can see what was issued. Yes, yes, that 

was a bigger one. But this is the real one. And thank you, Mr. Boswell, for handing that to the Chair. 

7 

And I apologize for interrupting, but it does show what has been 

produced. You may continue. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Thank you, sir. Without any experience, or expertise in the area of biometrics, we understood that other government 

agencies such as NIST were developing biometric standards. And 

at that time the newly formed Transportation Security Administration was looking at what would be the appropriate identifiers for 

transportation workers. We were hopeful not to duplicate or otherwise interfere with those efforts and, in fact, to take advantage of 

them. 

After waiting far too long, in November of 2010 we issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that proposed to require that all pilots, 

including student pilots, possess certificates with a digital photo, 

which is generally considered to be a biometric identifier. The comment period for that rulemaking closed in February. 

Due to the broad scope and the economic impact of the rule on 

over 700,000 certificated pilots, we proposed to phase in the requirement over a 5-year period. FAA recognizes that this timeframe is not consistent with the act’s direction, which called for us 

to begin modifying certificates in 2005. But we are working hard 

to finalize that rulemaking. 

While we proposed the requirement for the digital photo, we 

didn’t know what other type of biometric information to include on 

the certificate, or how to set up the infrastructure to collect and 

protect fingerprints or other biometric data from 700,000 pilots. So 

we did not move forward, as the committee expected. 

We all support the goal of enhancing aviation security and maximizing resources in order to achieve a single, universal security 

credential, incorporating biometric data that meets common standards. To meet this goal we will continue to work with TSA on its 

proposal to establish a universal ID for transportation workers. 

We need to understand how best to move forward to improve the 

use of biometric data to ensure the security of the pilot community 

and enhance aviation security. This requires coordination among 

government agencies and cooperation with airlines, industry trade 

associations, and aviation labor organizations. We recognize the advantages of developing security-enhancing uses for airmen biometrics, and we look forward to working with this committee as 

our efforts progress. 

Mr. Chairman, I will take whatever questions. 

Mr. MICA. Thank you. And we will hold questions. We have got 

another witness that we want to hear from first, and that is the 

director of the information technology laboratory, at the National 

Institute of Standards and Technology, who helped develop some of 

those standards and requirements for these identification documents, and that is Cita Furlani. 

Welcome, and you are recognized. 

Ms. FURLANI. Thank you, Chairman Mica and Ranking Member 

Rahall and members of the committee. I am Cita Furlani, director 

of the Information Technology Laboratory at the Department of 

Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology. 

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss our role in standards and testing for biometrics and identity 

management. 

8 

NIST’s mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and 

technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve 

our quality of life. 

Founded in 1901, NIST is a non-regulatory Federal agency. We 

have more than four decades of experience in improving the quality, usability, and consistency of human identification systems, responding to government and market requirements. We perform research and collaborate with other Federal agencies, academia, and 

industry partners to support timely development of biometric 

standards and to develop required conformance testing architectures and testing tools. 

NIST has developed standards to support Federal agencies’ information security requirements for many years beginning in the 

early 1970s, with the enactment of the Brooks Act. Through the 

Federal Information Security Management Act, or FISMA, of 2002, 

Congress reaffirmed this leadership role in developing standards 

for cyber security. FISMA provides for the development and promulgation of Federal Information Processing Standards, or FIPS, 

that are compulsory and binding for Federal computer systems 

other than national security systems. 

The responsibility for the development of FIPS rests with NIST. 

The authority to promulgate mandatory FIPS is given to the Secretary of Commerce. NIST develops FIPS when there are compelling Federal Government requirements such as for security and 

interoperability and there are no acceptable industry standards or 

solutions. 

To satisfy the requirements of Homeland Security Presidential 

Directive 12, NIST developed FIPS 201, entitled, ‘‘Personal Identity 

Verification,’’ or PIV, ‘‘of Federal Employees and Contractors.’’ It 

was approved by the Secretary of Commerce and issued in 2005. 

6.2 million cards that comply with FIPS 201 have been issued to 

Federal employees and contractors. In addition, the Department of 

Defense Common Access Cards are conformant. 

FIPS 201 incorporates in NIST Special Publication 800–76, 

which describes technical specifications for the biometric credentials of the PIV system, including the PIV card itself. This document is currently being updated to include optional use of compact 

iris image records, with iris records required in the absence of fingerprints. This update is an important step forward in the use of 

biometric data for PIV. 

NIST is engaging the public in the development and review of 

this document, which is expected to be released soon for public 

comment. Under the provisions of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act, and OMB Circular A–119, NIST is 

tasked with the role of encouraging and coordinating Federal agency use of voluntary consensus standards, and participation in the 

development of such relevant standards. 

In fact, United States-led international efforts have produced 

standards publicly adopted by the European community and by 

Australia. We continue to work with these standards committees to 

ensure compatibility with Federal credentials, and to address the 

needs of non-Federal communities. 

9 

Conformance testing to biometric standards measures whether a 

product’s implementation faithfully implements the specification. 

NIST actively contributes to the development of these conformance 

testing methodologies. The usability and ease of use of biometric 

systems is an overarching need for deployed biometric systems 

within the Federal Government. We have applied our expertise in 

usability and biometrics to study biometric systems in border security and airport environments. 

With NIST’s extensive experience and broad array of expertise 

both in its laboratories and its successful collaborations with the 

private sector and other government agencies, we are actively pursuing the standards and measurement research necessary to deploy 

reliable, usable, interoperable, and secure identity management 

systems. 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on NIST’s activities in biometrics and identity management. I would be happy to 

answer any questions you may have. 

Mr. MICA. Well, thank you, and I thank both of our witnesses. 

We are, again, disappointed that TSA would not show up. 

We are right now engaged in producing a transportation worker 

identification card and making certain it is properly deployed, and 

also involved in creating a credential for pilots that would be used 

instead of current pilot’s licenses for identification, since the pilot’s 

license that we now have is not acceptable to TSA. 

Let me just ask Peggy Gilligan, who is with FAA and overseeing 

aviation security and documentation for the pilots, if that is, in 

fact, the case, do you know that TSA will accept the pilot’s license 

for identification purposes that you have produced? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. You are correct, sir. It is not used as an identification method at this point. Again, as I testified—— 

Mr. MICA. Because it does not have a photograph. Is that—I 

guess that is the principle reason. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. I would assume so. Again, right now, the certificate demonstrates what your qualifications are, as a pilot, which is 

historically the reason that we issued it. We issued it so that we 

would know that, in fact, someone was competent and qualified to 

fly an airplane. 

Certainly, as we look at the biometric requirements, it may be 

able to fill the role of an identification card, and that is part of 

what we are coordinating with TSA. We want to assure we don’t 

have a proliferation of identification cards, to your point, sir. 

Mr. MICA. How much have we spent on the program so far? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. For the FAA licenses? 

Mr. MICA. Yes. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. It has cost us about $2.7 million to replace all of 

the pilot certificates, and we have about 700,000 active pilots. 

Mr. MICA. And are they all—have all of the pilots received the 

new license now? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. As of April 2010, this month, they will have completed that. Yes, sir. 

Mr. MICA. And the reason for not having either the biometric 

standard or—well, the photograph would be sort of a simple thing. 

Was there any reason that they didn’t include the photograph as, 

I thought we directed fairly clearly by law? Is there any reason for 

10 

not having the—at least the pilot’s photograph, instead of Wilbur 

and Orville? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Yes, sir. When we began the program to replace 

the certificates with the plastic tamper-proof certificates, that was 

in response to a different legislative direction that we had received 

earlier. That process was already underway, and we allowed that 

to go forward and it was completed. 

We have now, as you know—and I will acknowledge and take responsibility for being way too late in the process—but we have now 

proposed to require digital photographs, as well as to try to develop 

a process for the 700,000 pilots to be able to provide those photographs in a convenient way around—— 

Mr. MICA. How long will it be, and how much is—is that going 

to be another $2.7 million to also get out new—or is it going to cost 

more or less? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. The notice of proposed rulemaking has already 

been out for comment. The comment period has closed. And so now 

we are considering the comments from the pilots about the program. We will issue the final rule within about a year, and then 

we will set a timeframe for that replacement process. Because, 

again, there are—— 

Mr. MICA. So it will be a year before you establish the rule, and 

then you start replacing those cards after that. And what is the estimated cost? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. We had proposed a 5-year time period for completely replacing all of the pilot certificates. We will consider that 

time period as we go to the final rule. That may change. And I 

apologize, sir, I don’t have the number off the top of my head. The 

notice of proposed rulemaking did have the proposed cost, or—— 

Mr. MICA. So that would take us—— 

Ms. GILLIGAN [continuing]. The anticipated cost. I can provide 

that. 

Mr. MICA [continuing]. To 2012 before we get a decision on which 

way we are going, and with what kind of card. And then it will 

take us another 5 years to get the new cards out, and I am sure 

at least another 2.7—2017, that would be about a decade to get the 

cards out, as they should be produced. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. I understand your frustration, sir. 

Mr. MICA. OK. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. But we do have a community of 700,000 pilots. It 

will take a while for us to be able to replace those certificates. 

Mr. MICA. And finally, when you do the card—now the standards 

have been in place for some time. At least for part of the biometric 

measure, which is the fingerprint, and also the information and 

data arranged in an order set by the—what do you call it, 

NIST—— 

Ms. GILLIGAN. NIST. 

Mr. MICA. National Institute of Standards and Technology. I 

should say the whole thing, so people know what we are talking 

about. But they have, in fact, set the standards. Other agencies 

have adopted the cards. 

When we did our little roundtable behind closed doors we saw 

the cards that most of the other agencies have produced. What 

prompted some of this, Members, is we also have received a Coast 

11 

Guard—one of the Coast Guard officers showed me his identification card, which is in compliance with the standards that have 

been set, and has incredible capabilities, including computer access 

from anywhere, and is encoded with, again, all of the information 

that is necessary for that individual, both for identification and 

then for certain types of access. But those standards are available. 

And the new card, I would imagine, would meet those standards. 

And it would have a photograph. 

And just a final question to Ms. Furlani. The biometric standard 

for iris, that is still in progress. And while we have some readers, 

we have 1.5 million TWIC cards that have been issued, but we 

really don’t have readers that are being used on a regular basis. 

Some, I learned, were approved, but they are not being used. So, 

we have identification card, which has part of the biometrics. 

Your—so it is a twofold question, two-part question. When will 

you finish the iris capability? And then, when would we have a 

reader that could actually be used and employ both iris, fingerprint, and of course, it would have the photo? 

Ms. FURLANI. The iris standard will be—the draft publication 

will be published in the next—very soon, within days. 

Mr. MICA. In the next very soon? 

[Laughter.] 

Ms. FURLANI. Well, hopefully before next week. 

Mr. MICA. All right. 

Ms. FURLANI. But it is in progress. And what that is, of course, 

has been worked with the industry partners who do develop the 

cameras that collect the iris information. And one reason that the 

standard will be so readily adopted is because there are many vendors producing those cameras. So they are available, and they will 

agree with—be able to use the standard. 

Mr. MICA. And when would this standard be issued? 

Ms. FURLANI. In about—well, we put it out for public comment, 

we review all those comments, and if there are significant changes 

that come in, then we would put out a second draft. So it is over 

a period of months, but it is to be—— 

Mr. MICA. By the end of the year? 

Ms. FURLANI. Oh, yes, yes. 

Mr. MICA. Oh, yes. OK. So we will have a card that we have 

asked for by law, or—and standards for identification card. I think 

we have asked for it at least four times in law, various legislation, 

some time this year. And we will have all those requirements and 

a standard. And you will also be adopting those standards, Ms. 

Gilligan, for FAA for the pilot’s license. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Yes, sir. We certainly look at those. Again, I think 

the infrastructure necessary to use—— 

Mr. MICA. OK. Well, that might be a—Mr.—we have a vice chairman of the aviation subcommittee, may be in conference. We could 

be very specific about what they should do, at least adopting the 

standards. 

And when we held this behind-closed-doors meeting, we had all 

the agencies and DOD and others, except for TSA and Homeland 

Security, of course, but—and even the House Sergeant at Arms, because we thought it would be good for House Members to have a 

card that also incorporates the standards that have been adapted 

12 

to. It would just—I think it would make sense. Sometimes, you 

know, I have these wild ideas. 

But again, let me yield to other Members. Let me go—Mr. 

Cravaack, our vice chairman, and then we will go to other Members for questions. You are recognized. 

Mr. CRAVAACK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And, once again, 

thank you for coming here today on a pretty important issue, actually, from my perspective. 

One of the things I am kind of concerned about is TSA. And I 

wish—again, I wish that TSA was here today. But their new program, Known Crewmember, is the FAA aware of this program? 

Were they able to discuss with you what their intentions were, and 

what were your thoughts on that? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. I am aware of the program, I have talked with 

some of the representatives from the Air Line Pilots Association 

who were involved in it, as well as the Air Transport Association. 

So I am familiar with the effort, which is an effort to allow crewmembers to pass through security perhaps a little more quickly, because of the known nature of their need to be at the airport and 

inside the secure area. 

Mr. CRAVAACK. Right. And all they are doing is using their airline ID, correct? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. That is correct. 

Mr. CRAVAACK. To go through. And that is the only source of 

identification? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. As I understand it, they are going to use the airline ID, the employee ID number, and have access to a computer 

base that will confirm that that number is associated with the individual presenting the card. 

Mr. CRAVAACK. OK. So they do back it up, via—— 

Ms. GILLIGAN. My understanding is that that is what it will be. 

I don’t know where they are in the pilot programs. 

Mr. CRAVAACK. Yes. One of the things I just caution is that 

sometimes, you know, in not-too-distant history, in a FedEx incident where there was a disgruntled employee that got access to a 

jump seat in a cockpit, took the crew axe out and butchered the 

pilots. So we want to make sure that that obviously does not occur. 

And with that said, I do applaud trying to expedite crewmembers—and I would say crewmembers including all flight 

crew—getting through these systems. But it does take a—by the 

way, Mr. Chairman, I do like the card of Orville. I thought it was 

a very nice card, by the way, it is very nicely done. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Thank you. 

Mr. CRAVAACK. And—but I do think that we do need an expedited process of getting flight crews through there, because I remember going through and them pulling tweezers out of my bag 

when I had a huge crash axe right behind me and quite a large 

aircraft that I could have done a lot of things with. 

So, you know, being able to trust pilots is essential. But with 

that said, we have to have very updated data to make sure that 

there is not any pilots or crewmembers that would be trying to infiltrate the system, you know, by somebody—somebody had an action against them, had their ID pulled, or used some other ID to 

get through. That is what concerns me the most. And I think bioVerDate Aug 31 2005 10:43 Nov 10, 2011 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 P:\HEARINGS\112\FULL\4-14-1~1\65851.TXT JEAN
13 

metric devices like a retina scan or something like that would be 

very good in this process, and give a lot of faith and confidence to 

the public, as we go through. So, I appreciate that. 

What is it—in regards to your knowledge with the—sir, I don’t 

have a counter on here, I don’t want to take too much time, but 

I do not see—— 

Mr. MICA. No, we do not have a counter today, but just to—— 

Mr. CRAVAACK. OK. Good. 

Mr. MICA. Try to share the time. 

Mr. CRAVAACK. OK, thank you. To your knowledge, did TSA consider a biometric pilot license instead of airline IDs prior to this? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. We have had ongoing and longstanding conversations with TSA on exactly what should be the way to identify pilots—in this case, and transportation workers, generally. And I 

know the Chairman shares a concern about a proliferation of identification—— 

Mr. CRAVAACK. Right. 

Ms. GILLIGAN [continuing]. Cards for different purposes. But we 

have not been very successful in drawing those conversations to a 

conclusion. And I know that is the source of the Chairman’s frustration. But we will continue to work that. 

Mr. CRAVAACK. And if I could just offer a suggestion, I think the 

airlines themselves would be more than happy to partner with you, 

because we all had IDs with pictures on them. So you have a 

source of—and those have to be—I can’t remember how many years 

they had to be updated, so I am sure that they could partner with 

you, as well. 

And I don’t want to take too much time here, so—but thank you 

very much, again, for coming. I do appreciate it. Again, I wish we 

had had other members—the TSA—because I think it would be a 

very good conversation to have. And, Mr. Chairman, I yield back. 

Thank you. 

Mr. MICA. Thank you. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Thank you. 

Mr. MICA. Other Members for questions? Mr. Hanna? 

Mr. HANNA. Ms. Gilligan, I am a private pilot, an amateur pilot, 

but I spend a lot of time flying. And I just had my license redone 

about a year ago and it cost me $2 to get Orville and his brother’s 

photograph on my card. 

I thought at the time—and I know a lot of—I know hundreds of 

pilots spend a lot of time around airports. They are kind of like the 

bars for people who don’t drink, you know, they are real great 

places to hang out. 

[Laughter.] 

Ms. GILLIGAN. I am glad to hear they don’t drink. 

Mr. HANNA. No, they don’t. No. That is one thing pilots don’t do 

is drink. It is—it really works better that way. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Yes. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. HANNA. The—my point is it cost me $2 to get my license re- placed. You spent $2 million. You could have easily charged me $5 

and had it cost you nothing. 

And you also stated that it took you 2 years to cycle through 

750,000 people, one of which was me. It seems to me then, if that 

14 

is the case, why should it take a year to do something you know 

ultimately you are going to have to do? And why should it take, 

beyond that, another 5 years to do it? Because I can assure you 

there are no pilots who are against this. If there is anybody who 

wants security at airports, it is pilots, since, you know, they are 

busy when they are flying and the last thing they need is trouble 

behind them. 

It seems like—based on your own experience and what you have 

been able to accomplish in the past, it seems like a long time. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. I understand that, sir. This is one of a number of 

rulemakings we have underway. We have another half-dozen rules 

which were directed by this committee last summer with very short 

timeframes. So part of this is a resource issue at FAA. But we will 

continue and finalize the rule. 

Unfortunately, there are some pilots who do not necessarily 

agree with this. We got about 400 comments suggesting that there 

are lots of other ways pilots have identification, and they do not 

consider their pilot certificate should be used for identification purposes. They use their pilot’s license for a different reason. So, we 

will have to work our way through those comments and make sure 

we are balancing the concerns identified. 

Then we have the dilemma of how to collect photos, and make 

sure that the person giving us the photo is the person whose certificate we want to issue. So we are looking at the infrastructure 

of where will pilots have to go to be able to bring us their photos 

or provide us the digital photos. So there are some logistical issues 

involved with it, as well, all of which we are working through as 

we finalize the rule. 

Mr. CRAVAACK. Would you yield for a question? 

Mr. HANNA. Oh, sure. 

Mr. CRAVAACK. My—one of the questions I have is who is—who 

actually needs the pilot’s license with a picture on it? Usually only 

those flying in a commercial status. So all pilots, not necessarily, 

would need to have a picture or biometric devices associated with 

their pilot’s license, only those working, for example, that would 

have to have access to a secure area. Don’t you think? 

To be honest with you, for a security measure, only those individuals would truly need to have the type of identification that you 

are talking about. So not all pilots—not all 700,000 pilots—need to 

have this type of identification. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Well, the committee direction does require all pilots. And, in addition, at the time, during the debate, there was 

discussion about the potential security risk of general aviation aircraft, and the idea that FBOs should be able to properly identify 

people to whom they are leasing aircraft. That these pilots would 

have somehow been vetted. 

Now, of course—and I probably should have mentioned this because some of the new Members may not know—the entire airman 

registry is vetted through TSA and through other law enforcement 

organizations regularly. It is now vetted 24 hours a day, 7 days a 

week, 365 days a year, in an effort to identify any known risk or 

threat from someone who may hold one of our certificates. And if 

we are notified by TSA that there is a risk, we revoke certificates 

based on the TSA determination of a security risk. 

15 

So, we have addressed that sort of known risk when we are able 

to identify it. So that is ongoing. But right now the legislation does 

anticipate all pilots would, in fact, get the new certificates with 

photographs and biometrics. 

Mr. CRAVAACK. I will have to educate myself more on that. 

Thank you very much, and I yield back, sir. Thank you. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Sir, we will be glad to come and talk with you any 

time to let you know what we have done and where we are going. 

Thank you. 

Mr. MICA. OK. Mr. Hanna, were you finished? 

Mr. HANNA. Do you happen to know AOPA’s position on this? 

Have they rendered one? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. They have. I am sure they commented, sir. I don’t 

recall. 

But I agree with you. Fundamentally, there is not a lot of disagreement. 

Mr. HANNA. I use a number of different airports, so I carry a lot 

of cards. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Yes. 

Mr. HANNA. So, for what little it matters, I would like one. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Absolutely. And the Chairman has made that 

point, as well. 

Mr. MICA. Well, if the gentleman will yield—— 

Mr. HANNA. Yes. 

Mr. MICA. You know they do have—TSA does have several programs. They started one in 2007. Now we are on another one in 

2010 to produce credentials. But I don’t believe it is the role of the 

Air Line Pilots Association, the commercial airliners, to produce 

identification that should be acceptable by TSA or acceptable as a 

pilot’s—in lieu of a pilot’s license. So, while we are producing a pilot’s license already, why not have that capability? 

And the standards also that the National Institute is setting, the 

type of card—and embedded in it you can have encodement for all 

kinds of different levels of access. So—but if we had—well, if we 

had true biometric measures of both iris and thumbprint, and a 

photo, we would have a triple check that that individual is that individual, that we have an honest documentation that they have access to certain levels of activities. And again, we are not producing 

a whole host of identifications that go on and on, nor is the—a private company setting the standard that is acceptable. 

So, that is where we are. And I don’t care if AOPA or any of the 

others or the airlines like it. They can all go fly in a different direction. But we will make certain—I can assure you, as sure as we 

are at this hearing today in this room, that we will have this matter resolved in the FAA legislation that will pass Congress very 

shortly. So this is an important area. 

Mr. Bucshon, you have been waiting, and then we will go to Mr. 

Farenthold. 

Dr. BUCSHON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it. I am 

not an aviation person. Unlike some of the others, I was a physician prior to coming here. 

But I want to make a few general comments about government, 

and why I am here, and this is a classic example, I think, of why 

the American people are disgruntled with the Federal Government. 

16 

In my view, I mean, the Congress has given directed orders to 

fix a problem that seems fairly simple. And I suspect most major 

private security firms could have solved this problem years ago. 

But the Federal Government continues to blame everybody, you 

know. Not having TSA here gives the people who are here plausible 

deniability that, well, it is the TSA’s fault, and the TSA is going 

to say it is your fault. And I just want to say that this is one of 

the reasons why the American people want this government to 

change. 

You know, you commented on 400 comments that you received 

from the public on this issue out of 700,000 pilots that would be 

affected like this. And in medicine I would call that something that 

is called anecdote, which is—I know you needed to consider it, but 

statistically, this is an extremely small number of concerns for a 

problem that affects the entire American aviation system. 

So, I would like to know, Ms. Gilligan, what are the real reasons 

why we cannot fix this problem? Just cut through all the blaming 

of the agencies, cut through all of the politics. How come a problem 

that I think the private sector could have solved in a matter of 

months, literally, has taken years, and how come people can continue to say—even though Congress has directed this to happen, 

just come here and tell us that—and blame other people, and tell 

us why you have not done it? 

So, I want to know—I really want to know. What is the real reason why we cannot fix this? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Yes, sir. In part, it is because we did not step up 

to do it in a timely way. In part, it is because FAA has no experience in biometrics or how to collect them or how to keep them and 

protect them—— 

Dr. BUCSHON. I am going to interrupt, just for a second. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Yes, sir. 

Dr. BUCSHON. There are many private companies around this 

Nation, I can tell you, that are experts at this. And this could have 

been solved, I mean, within weeks. 

You know, we do not have to reinvent the wheel every time 

something comes up. There is no reason why the FAA needs to be 

an expert in biometrics. There is private companies and other 

agencies within the government that are experts in this area. So 

I do not think that—that is not a valid excuse. 

Ms. GILLIGAN. It is not meant by way of excuse, sir. It is simply 

part of the facts. We did reach out to TSA, because they also had 

direction, as the Chairman has indicated, to establish biometric indicators for all transportation workers, including pilots. And we felt 

it would be appropriate to follow their lead. That lead has not led 

us to a conclusion. And so we are continuing to work the issue. 

I understand your frustration. I agree, this could have been done 

sooner and quicker. But we are where we are at this point, and we 

are working hard to try to move forward. 

Dr. BUCSHON. But it has been how many years, approximately, 

since you were directed to do this that it has not been done? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. The direction, I believe, was in 2004. 

Dr. BUCSHON. 2004. That is 7 years. I mean in anyone’s mind in 

the American public that are watching this hearing, they would say 

17 

that that is a ridiculous amount of time to solve this problem. And 

so—— 

Mr. MICA. Will the gentleman yield? 

Dr. BUCSHON. I will yield. 

Mr. MICA. I mean what you have learned today is it is 7 years 

to date, and we have got another year to go before we get the comments, and then 5 years to deploy. So we are looking at more than 

a decade to, again, solve a relatively—well, it is not a simple requirement that Congress has set forth, but if you are frustrated, 

Mr. Bucshon, I have been here for the whole thing, so—— 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. MICA. I am at the end of my wits on it. I yield back. 

Dr. BUCSHON. And I do not—I am not—and there is no disrespect 

here among what you are trying to do, of course. But I think I am 

passing on the frustration of the American people, not only for this 

issue, but many others. 

And so, I really—I mean it is an honest question. What is the 

real reason why we cannot do this? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Again, I think we looked for expertise from others, 

which has not been forthcoming. And the reality that is—putting 

in place an infrastructure to collect and protect biometrics for 

700,000 pilots is a somewhat daunting task. 

So, at FAA we have the identification cards, as many agencies 

do. We have about 70,000 employees. We set up 170 collection locations. For 10 times that number of pilots, the infrastructure needed 

to collect and protect this data is something that really needs to be 

carefully constructed. And we had hoped to draw on the expertise 

of others who do this, and we have not successfully completed that. 

Dr. BUCSHON. OK, thank you. I yield back. 

Mr. MICA. Mr. Farenthold? 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I 

agree. I am stunned at how long this process took. I walked in 

here, they took my picture and had a photo ID for me in a matter 

of 5 minutes when I became a freshman here that had holograms 

on it and was tamper resistant. You can walk into any amusement 

park in the country, buy a season pass, and they will put your picture on it. You know, in—OK, it probably takes longer than 5 minutes; he has got to wait in line to get it. So, I mean, I am just 

stunned by this. 

Let’s talk a little bit more about the detailed biometrics. Ms. 

Furlani, how much data does it take to store appropriate amount 

of biometric data on a card? I mean is it a kilobyte? Is it a megabyte? I mean just give me an order of—— 

Ms. FURLANI. I do not have those numbers, but that is the challenge. You have put your finger on it. And that is one of the reasons it has been difficult on the iris—and it is only recently we 

found a way to reduce the amount of data that needs to be stored 

on the card that permits it to move into the standard. So it is—— 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. So we are talking about something that probably cannot be stored on a magnetic strip, it is going to require—— 

Ms. FURLANI. Oh, it needs a—— 

Mr. FARENTHOLD [continuing]. An embedded chip, or something 

like—— 

18 

Ms. FURLANI. With encryption. You need to have the encryption 

to protect it. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. OK. Now, I assume also that you have got to 

have some way of telling whether or not that ID has been revoked 

or not. So it is going to be online. So, really, do you really need that 

much data? Can’t you just store a serial number, have the user 

know a PIN, and it looks it up online at the same time it looks to 

see if it has been revoked? 

Ms. FURLANI. You want all the intelligence on the cards, and 

that is what is the protective device. And you do need the PIN to 

identify that you are the person—— 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Right. I mean I get—something you have, 

something you know, something you are. 

Ms. FURLANI. You got it. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. But it seems to me there is going to have to 

be an online component to that anyway, to check revocation. 

Ms. FURLANI. Correct. And that is what—when you have the 

readers, that is what they do, is confirm that there is a validity. 

And, as the Chairman said, what actual access each individual 

should have. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. OK—— 

Ms. FURLANI. Because that could be controlled through the—— 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. So, I mean, the technology is there. Clear had 

the cards that they embedded it on them. OK, admittedly, they 

went out of business. But, you know, they did not have the Federal 

Government behind them. 

Ms. FURLANI. Well, it is a business model. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Yes. You have got—CBP has something similar, their trusted entry program that I know of. American Express 

blue cards have a chip embedded in them. They cannot be that expensive. 

Ms. FURLANI. Correct. And the reason they are not expensive, 

and are available, are the basic standards and the interoperability, 

so vendors can compete and build better products, and thus enter 

the market more acceptably. So—— 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. OK. So it is not expensive. We get the standards out. We ought to just be able to get this done in a short 

amount of time. Texas changed their driver’s license—what is it, 

over 10 million drivers in Texas—in a matter of—you know, as 

soon as they all expired, all changed. Done. 

So, again, I am troubled by—and I am also troubled, Ms. 

Gilligan, you are talking about, well, how do we collect the pictures 

of the pilot. We ask our TWIC longshoremen to appear in person 

twice to have their picture taken. If anybody ought to be able to 

get around to a location easily, it ought to be a pilot. You know, 

they can fly to wherever you want. 

I mean, admittedly, I realize that is an exaggeration. I mean if 

you are in the middle of, you know, some rural area, it is potentially a long trip there. But I cannot believe that with a—the hardware to make these ID cards costs more than a couple of thousand 

dollars with just a picture. Obviously, a little bit more with the biometric data. 

Can you explain why pilots—we are asking less of our pilots than 

we are of our longshoremen? 

19 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Well, again, sir, the pilot certificate was never intended as an identification medium. It was to show that the pilot 

was qualified for the function. Now we are trying to convert it, potentially, to an identification media, and are trying to incorporate 

either in that or some other single universal identification media, 

all the information that would be appropriate. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. It seems like more than trying. I think we— 

this Congress directed you to do that, didn’t they? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Yes, sir, they did. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. OK. My mom used to have a saying, or a little 

thing she used to do to us. She would say, ‘‘Try to pick up that bottle of water.’’ ‘‘I am trying.’’ ‘‘We told you to pick up the bottle of 

water.’’ There is a difference. I can try all day. So it was pick up 

the thing of water. And you can try all day long. 

Let’s just—it just seems to me, and like Mr. Bucshon said, the 

government spends too much time not talking to each other and 

costing too much money. So I urge you to just find a way to get 

her done. 

Mr. MICA. Well, we will get it done, one way or the other, and 

with help from the members of the committee, there will be very 

specific direction in the FAA legislation, which should be on the 

President’s desk before the end of May. 

Any other Members—Mr. Petri has joined us. Did you—Mr. Harris? Mr. Harris? 

Dr. HARRIS. Yes. Brief question, Mr. Chairman. You know, my 

questions were actually for the TSA folks. And, Mr. Chairman, you 

might enlighten me as to—— 

Mr. MICA. You came a little late. 

Dr. HARRIS. I know. Did I miss them? 

Mr. MICA. So far they have stonewalled us. They have 

stonewalled the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, they 

have stonewalled the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. So they are—— 

Dr. HARRIS. Are they figuring out how to—— 

Mr. MICA. And we are working with the leadership and with the 

other committees. And, as you know, I have even threatened to 

subpoena. We are trying not to do that, but to enlist their support. 

We have had a private meeting on this subject, and they refuse to 

appear. 

So you are coming in a little bit late in the explanation, but just 

to repeat for you that the two primary agencies that should be 

here, since TSA is also cooking up their second program for pilot 

identification, they are not here. So we are all frustrated by it, and 

we will take some steps to address it. 

Dr. HARRIS. Thank you. I guess they are just figuring out how 

to pat down the 6-year-olds today. I mean that is probably consuming—— 

Mr. MICA. They have not had a good week, and—— 

Dr. HARRIS. It is not a good week at all. I will just be very brief, 

and I will just share, you know, my colleague here from—fellow 

physician, freshman Member—I guess I am—I share his frustration because 7 years is a long time. I thought the EPA took a long 

time figuring out that spilled milk on a dairy farm is not the same 

as an oil spill. That only took them 27 months. This is now 7 years. 

20 

And I am puzzled because I know that in the hospital—you 

know, I have a biometric identification to sign out narcotics and it 

has been there for years, and it works, and it is—you know, it is 

remote location, you know, I have an identification card, I have a 

fingerprint, it is by telecommunications, obviously transmitted 

some central—checks out, makes sure I am me. I mean all that 

technology is there. 

So, you know, whatever we can do to help. I know the solutions 

and—are out there, and I—you know, I share the frustrations, but 

we ought to get it done. You know, our citizens deserve that level 

of security. 

But thank you very much for being here. I yield back my time. 

Mr. MICA. Any other Members seek recognition. Mr. Petri? No? 

Well, I want to thank you all for coming out. We do not mean 

to beat you up too badly, particularly you, Ms. Gilligan, but there 

is—as you can see, there is great frustration. I know there was 

some differences in direction by Congress. 

You have publicly stated that FAA did have problems, and was 

not successful in getting this out as Congress thought it should be 

done. We will give you some pretty specific directives, I think, in 

the bill that will be passed, and we will try to get this resolved 

quicker, and give you the tools to do that, hopefully. 

But again, TSA continues to spend a countless amount of money 

rescreening people, and they rescreen them because they do not 

know who they are. And now, for pilots, they are using all kinds 

of identification. And we have produced, at millions of dollars, a pilot’s license that is not even an acceptable form of identification. So 

it is very frustrating for us, as Members of Congress, to not see the 

agencies at least operating better, more responsibly. 

We couldn’t get into the TWIC program today because the program manager refused also to come before the Transportation Committee. So we really couldn’t get into the problems with the nearly 

half-a-billion dollars that have been expended on the transportation worker identification card. 

We hope that our discussions over the past couple of months 

with the National Institute of Standards and Technology is also 

helping prompt expediting the final important element, and that is 

a biometric standard on iris. Once we get those standards in place, 

we need every agency to comply and utilize the good standards that 

have been adopted. 

We are about to recess, or adjourn the hearing. Did any other 

Members have any questions? Mr. Southerland? 

Mr. SOUTHERLAND. I am—I just thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just 

a quick question. 

Ms. Gilligan, I know that you have heard our frustration that 

TSA and Homeland Security was not here. But in your work, you 

know, I guess you will continue to work with these agencies. I 

mean tell me about your working relationship with them. I mean 

I am aggravated, and I certainly want the record to reflect, you 

know, my aggravation that we are the people’s House. And when 

the people’s House has asked, the agency has to come and give a 

report to the people. To me, it is a blatant disregard and a blatant 

disrespect to the people. It aggravates me beyond my ability, really, 

right now to explain. 

21 

But tell me about your working relationship with them. Since 

they have chosen not to come here today to address the people, 

what is your working relationship with them like? 

Ms. GILLIGAN. Well, sir, before 9/11, the Federal Aviation Administration also had responsibility for aviation security. After that 

event, and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security 

and the Transportation Security Administration, we have had to 

work very closely together to assure that whatever is being put in 

place to enhance security does not have a negative impact on aviation safety. So we work together with TSA quite closely on many, 

many issues. 

This issue of biometric identification for transportation workers 

seemed to us to be primarily their responsibility, with us assisting 

in whatever way we could. They have struggled. And, consequently, 

we have struggled with identifying what those biometric identifiers 

should be, the process for requiring them for the transportation 

worker, the creation of the infrastructure to collect the information 

and to have readers in locations, and to understand what is the 

reason for having that biometric information. 

So, we continue to have those discussions. And having heard the 

Chairman and the Members’ frustrations, I can assure you we will 

continue to push hard to try to come to closure on what the standards should be, and how we should create the infrastructure 

around the country to take advantage of that. 

Mr. SOUTHERLAND. Very good. I appreciate you being here today. 

I look forward to furthering this issue along, and hopefully they 

will yield to the will of the people. And I am sure our Chairman 

will pursue that, as well. 

So, Mr. Chairman, thank you. 

Mr. MICA. Well, again, I thank our two witnesses for appearing, 

both a representative from the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology and the FAA associate administrator for aviation security. 

Unfortunately, the FAA has not had a good week, neither with 

this hearing, unfortunately. We started off, I guess, with the Airbus 380 incident, we have had more controllers sleeping, we have 

a record number of mishaps. The vice chairman and I are headed 

right now—we are late for a meeting with the administrator, and 

just got word that the FAA chief administrative officer, Hank 

Krakowski, is resigning. 

So, it is not too good a day for FAA, or too good a week. But our 

job is to make it better, make it work better, figure out how these 

things got astray, particularly during the last 4 years, and get 

them in order and work with the agencies and make certain that 

they do comply with just a common sense approach to expending 

limited resources, which is taxpayer dollars funding the whole 

show. 

So, there being no further business before the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure this morning, I thank again our 

witnesses, and this meeting is adjourned. Thank you. 

[Whereupon, at 10:40 a.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

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