Opinion ID: 184889
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security

Text: 10 On July 25, 1996, in the wake of the TWA Flight 800 disaster, President Clinton announced his intention to form a committee to study aviation safety and security issues. The White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security filed a charter on August 21, 1996, and was officially established by Executive Order dated August 22, 1996. See Exec. Order No. 13,015, 61 Fed.Reg. 43,937 (1996). This order charged the Commission with recommending a strategy to improve aviation safety and security, both domestically and internationally. See id. It provided that the Commission would be chaired by Vice President Gore and supported by the Department of Transportation. See id. It further provided that the Commission would consist of no more than twenty-five members to be appointed by the President from the public and private sectors. See id. Finally, it provided that the Commission would terminate after six months unless extended by the President. See id. 11 On August 14, 1996, President Clinton invited Cummock, the widow of a Pan Am Flight 103 victim and an advocate for disaster victims and improved airline safety measures, to join the Commission. Additional members included the Vice President, as noted, as well as former Central Intelligence Agency Director John M. Deutch, then Department of Transportation Secretary Federico F. Pena, retired Air Force General John Michael Loh, and other individuals with experience or expertise in aviation safety and security matters. 12 Once the Commission was established, it immediately began its work, which progressed quickly. On August 22, 1996, the day after the Commission filed its charter, five Commission members held a meeting at which Commissioner Loh presented a document containing draft recommendations. The full Commission then held its first executive session on September 5, 1996, and on September 9, the Commission submitted its initial report to the President, advancing twenty recommendations to enhance aviation security. The Commission continued to meet for several months thereafter, and its final report, containing over fifty recommendations, was delivered to the President on February 12, 1997. The presentation of this report garnered extensive media attention. See, e.g., Matthew L. Wald, Panel to Recommend Steps for Cutting Air Crash Rate, N.Y. TIMES, Feb. 12, 1997, at A1; Robert Davis, 53 Air-Safety Proposals Come Out Today, USA TODAY, Feb. 12, 1997, at 3A; Ralph Vartabedian & Elizabeth Shogren, Tougher Security, Safety Rules for Airlines Proposed, L.A. TIMES, Feb. 13, 1997, at A1; J. Lynn Lunsford, Panel Urges Changes to Improve Air Safety, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, Feb. 13, 1997, at 6A. Neither the report nor the accompanying transmittal letter indicated the existence of any dissenting views. 13 Cummock, alone, dissented from the final report. Her letter of dissent, dated February 19, 1997, was published with the printed version of the final report, which also included an editor's note stating as follows: 14 This edition contains as Appendix I a dissent by Commissioner Cummock which was transmitted to the Commission one week after the report was voted on in public session and presented to President Clinton. 15 During the public session, Commissioner Cummock dissented from three recommendations. The dissent published in this document goes far beyond those registered in public. It presents for the first time material and arguments the other Commissioners did not have an opportunity to consider. However, many of the arguments made in the dissent were considered and rejected by the other members of the Commission. 16 WHITE HOUSE COMMISSION ON AVIATION SAFETY AND SECURITY, FINAL REPORT TO PRESIDENT CLINTON (Feb. 12, 1997), reprinted in Appendix (App.) 38. The final report included only the narrative portion of Cummock's dissent and excluded the supporting materials that accompanied the dissent. The editor's note to the final report indicated that interested persons could obtain the supporting materials by writing to a specified address. See id.