Date: 2004-10-08
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of the Mica amendment. which will go a long wayIn making certain our skies are safe and free of terrorism. I would like to focus my comments on important provisions in this amendment that will help ensure the civil liberties of all of Americas citizens are protected during this war on terrorism. I thank Aviation Subcommittee Chairman MICA for including this language in his amendment. which I had submitted to the Rules Committee as a separate amendment. There is no question that we should be vigilant in our fight against terrorism or that increased security measures will serve to inconvenience some of our citizens. However. forcing certain lawabiding citizens to be repeatedly detained and questioned each time they travel should not be tolerated. This amendment will establish a process for the Transportation Security Adminstration to ensure those passengers who are erroneously flagged under its new prescreening system are not unnecessarily delayed on future flights. To illustrate the importance of addressing this issue. I would like to highlight an example of a family in my district who has been repeatedly delayed when traveling. . The most recent. case occurred this summer. when returning from an oversees trip. The family was met by officials as they deplaned and escorted to a holding room at JFK Airport. During their detainment. officials thoroughly inspected the familys luggage and would not even allow them to go to the restroom without escort. The family was extensively questioned about their background and employment. It took over three hours for the officials to clear and release the family. Unfortunately. the long delay caused them to miss their connecting flight to California. According to Immigration and.Customs Enforcement. this family was delayed due to the nature of our law enforcement databases. which can give rise to "near matches" and "tentative hits." resulting in misidentification scenarios. This was not the first time this family was delayed because of the similarity of their name to names that appear on watch lists. Unfortunately. according to the Department of Homeland Security. it will not be the lastthe family should expect similar detainment in the future because of this shortcoming in our.law enforcement databases. Some of you might say that this is the price American citizens of MiddleEastern descent must pay to ensure safety in our skies. But we must ask ourselveshow do we protect those unfortunate Americans. who share names that are similar to dangerous people on terrorist watch lists. from being effectively denied the ability to fly? There is no question that we must encourage our security officials to be vigilant. But. it is reasonable to expect that the Transportation Security. Administration be able to maintain their watch lists to ensure that the system does not continue to erroneously flag the same lawabiding citizens every time they try to travel on a plane. I believe this can be done in a way that maintains aviation security. improves the effectiveness of watch lists. and demonstrates to our fellow Americans of MiddleEastern descent that America affords the same freedoms and opportunities to all of its lawabiding citizens. even during this war on terrorism. Specifically. this amendment will: establish a timely and fair process for individuals identified as a threat to appeal the determination and correct any erroneous information. include a method by which TSA will be able to maintain a record of air passengers who have been misidentified. and prevent repeated delays of misidentified passengers by ensuring the record contain information determined by TSA to authenticate the identity of such a passenger. As we work toward policies that secure our homeland. we must not forget that there are U.S. citizens who are of Middle Eastern descent. They have greatlycontributed to American society and are deserving of equal treatment under the Constitution of the United States. These various cultures and races became citizens of the United States just as our ancestors did. and they are our neighbors. coworkers. friends. and family members. Most of all. they are our fellow Americans. It is unfortunate that these Americans have been forced to bear the brunt of our increased security. In the past. when American law enforcement confronted challenges to our safety and security from espionage. drug trafficking and organized crime. we were able to meet those challenges itt ways that preserved our fundamental freedoms and civil liberties. We must meet the challenge of terrorism with this same careful regad for the Constitutional rights of Americans and respect for all human beings. Last week. the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unanimously approved these provisions and I ask my colleagues to support this amendment today.