Date: 2002-07-10
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman. I rise in opposition to the two amendments. but I also rise in opposition to the bill. H.R. 4635. Although the program has been modified from the original version. I do not believe that it isprudent to deputize pilots as jaw enforcement officials and to arm them with lethal weapons. even on a pilot program basis. But before I discuss the reasons for my opposition. let me first commend the ranking member. the gentleman from Minnesota . and the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Aviation. the gentleman from Illinois for negotiating a muchimproved bill. I also thank the gentleman from Florida for incorporating language in the bill and the report to address some specific concerns I raised. Even though the final compromise is not an acceptable one to me. I appreciate the good faith. and it is a muchimproved bill. The central issue in this debate is what is the proper role of an airline pilot in aviation security. The proponents of H.R. 4635 believe that pilots can serve in a dual capacity as navigators and as Federal law enforcement officers. I appreciate the desire and willingness of pilots to assume additional responsibilities. However. I am not convinced that law enforcement is an appropriate role for the airline pilots. In the aviation security area.. there are already Federal air marshals specially trained to deal with violent situations in the air.This is a fulltime job that requires individuals individual attention. They must undergo vigorous training. and after initial qualification. they still must spend a great deal of time to maintain their proficiency. H.R. 4635 would essentially establish a Federal flight deck officer program that authorizes volunteer pilots to serve as adjuncts to the Federal air marshal program. The main reason why I oppose this idea is I have grave doubts about whether pilots whose primary duty and experience involves manipulating complex electronic equipment can devote the time and attention necessary to reach a level of proficiency that is equivalent to that of a Federal air marshal. Let me also remind Members that passenger cabins are relatively small. and they are a confined environment where gun battles are very likely to cause damage to bystanders and damage the aircraft instruments. 01415 For this reason. Federal air marshals must undergo a training regimen that is far more demanding than the training programs for other law enforcement officials. I would like to point out that the bill provides no role for the employers of the individuals who would become Federal flight deck officers of the airlines. Candidates for the Federal flight deck officer program apply directly to the TSA. Airlines might not even find out wh ether one of their pilots has applied for the program until after TSA requests a history of their work record and other background information. I know of no other private sector employeeemployer relationship where the employees can seek authorization to carry a lethal weapon without the employers knowledge and consent. After all. if something happens on a plane. it is the airline that is most likely to be sued. and yet they have no role to play in this program. During the questionandanswer period at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing. the head of TSA. John Magaw. indicated that the agency is opposed to arming pilots with lethal weapons. TSA are the experts in this area. and they recognize the complexities involved. They know what it takes to train a Federal air marshal. It goes far beyond just training someone in basic gun safety and ffring a weapon accurately. Security tasks should be left to dedicated security professionals. We should not be secondguessing the TSA program and their judgment. At best. arming pilots increases security only marginally. while diverting precious time and resources that TSA could spend on more important endeavors. TSA is already having great difficulty reviewing and coordinating plans with airports deploying detection systems. I am particularly concerned that requiring TSA to focus on developing procedures to arm pilots will make it virtually impossible to comply with the December 31 deadline for 100 percent deployment in this area. I just want to remind Members. Mr. OBERSTAR. that two pilots were arrested for being drunk as they were getting ready to go fly a plane. I would hate for them to have had lethal weapons.