*EPF514 10/12/01
Senate Passes Aviation Security Bill 100-0
(Legislation would make screeners federal employees) (320)
By Andrzej Zwaniecki
Washington File Writer

Washington -- The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved a bill that would require the government to take over baggage screening at airports and put more federal marshals on commercial airplanes.

The measure would take away from private companies authority for baggage screening and handling and give it to a new federal workforce. It also would increase cockpit security, allow pilots to carry guns and require antihijacking training for airline crews. The new security measures would be paid for by $2.50 surcharge added to the price of an airline ticket.

The Senate passed the bill 100-0 late October 11, one month after terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners and crashed three into the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

"We in the United States Senate are taking a major step in ensuring this kind of thing can never happen again," said Senator John McCain, one of the bill co-sponsors.

The bill was delayed by a controversy over a federalization proposal. Proponents of federalization argued that better trained and paid federal workers would better ensure airport security than airline and contract workers.

But many Republican senators initially opposed the provision because they said it would create another government bureaucracy. A number of House of Representatives Republicans still oppose federalization vigorously; they would give government authority to set standards and oversee airport security but allow privately contracted workers to continue performing the actual screening.

The Bush administration has expressed support for this approach.

At an October 12 briefing, White House spokesman Ari Fleisher said that President Bush had "a lot of concerns" about the aviation bill passed by the Senate. Press reports said that Bush has threatened to act by executive order if Congress cannot pass a bill quickly.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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