Date: 2007-12-11
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of H.R. 1413. to direct the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration) to address vulnerabilities in aviation security by carrying out a pilot program to screen airport workers with access to secure and sterile areas of airports. introduced by my distinguished colleague from New York. Representative LOWEY. As a member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure Protect. I believe that this important piece of legislation. of which I am a proud cosponsor. is absolutely imperative for insuring the protection of our nation. Today. aviation security is high on the list of priorities of air travelers. the Federal Government. and the international air community. Since September 11th we have made many improvements in the security of our nations transportation infrastructure. However our job is far from over. whether its more improvements to be made or gaps to close. In matters of security. we must not become complacentas our enemies adapt. so must we. And we did. we now have a federal screening workforce. we screen 100 percent of the checked baggage. we are in the process of moving to 100 percent screening of air cargo and we are constantly trying to find new technology to help all of these functions. In addition we armed pilots and barricaded the cabin door. still there is much more that needs to be done and this legislation is an important step in the direction of making our nation more secure. This important legislation includes a number of provisions that will make American airports safer by directing the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security to implement a number of new programs. In this day and age when Presidential candidates and Members of Congress must go through airport security and screening. it is unfathomable that airport employees with access to sterile areas of the airport are still excused from such screening. This legislation calls for the implementation of a pilot program at five commercial service airports that will screen all airport workers with access to sterile areas of the airport. This program calls for screening of airport employees to be conducted under the same standards as apply to passengers at security screening checkpoints and to be carried out by private screeners at a designated screening lane for their exclusive use at a minimum of two airports. This will ensure that airport employees are held to the same standards as all other people wishing to enter an airport. In order to further ensure security. this bill requires that each airport participating in said program is subject to a vulnerability assessment by the Department of Homeland -Security. An endemic problem in the national security system is the lack of specificity of legislation that is meant to secure our nations airports. This bill escapes that by specifying that at least two of the participating airports be large hub airports. with the remaining airports representing different airport security risk categories. therefore ensuring a holistic assessment of our airports current security risks. This legislation further specifies that each participating airport operator conduct an assessment of the screening technology used at the airport and to submit the results to the Assistant Secretary. Following this comprehensive program. the United States will be able to better assess the real security of its nations airports. Mr. Speaker. I am proud to cosponsor H.R. 1413 and I call on my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation because I strongly believe that it will strengthen our nations efforts to confront the existing vulnerabilities our current airport security system and consequently make our nation more secure.