_____At a Glance_____ • Aviation Security Bill (Associated Press, Nov 15, 2001)

By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 16, 2001; 2:50 p.m.

Congress approved legislation today to install federal baggage screeners at every U.S. airport within one year, abolishing the private security system that has come under withering attack since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The measure – which was the product of intense negotiations between the House and Senate during the past week – would place the federal government, rather than the airlines, in charge of the nation's air-travel security system. The Senate passed the bill this morning and the House quickly followed with a vote early this afternoon. President Bush is expected to sign the bill Monday.

In addition to creating a new 28,000-person federal workforce, the bill would strengthen cockpit doors, place federal sky marshals on flights, and require the inspection of all checked and carry-on luggage for weapons and explosives.

"We are going to see immediate changes," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) during the floor debate, adding that the measure "will significantly improve the security of the flying public."

"This is a historic moment," House Transportation Committee chairman Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), told the Associated Press. He called the package "the best security bill this nation has ever had for the flying public."

The glowing tone of lawmakers' remarks today belied the heated debate that has raged in Washington for more than a month on how to best guard against future terrorist attacks. The Senate had approved legislation last month federalizing all baggage screening while the House passed a bill giving the president a choice between hiring public or private screeners. The president backed the House bill but said he would sign either one.

Under the legislation that passed today, all airports will adopt a federal screening system within a year. One year after that point five airports of varying sizes could opt to hire private contractors. Three years after the bill's enactment any airport could hire private screeners.

While the Bush administration is already acting to implement several of the security measures outlined in the bill, lawmakers warned it would take time to enact all the new requirements they've outlined.

"The changes are not going to be bam-bam and we'll have security tomorrow," said Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.), co-author of the Senate bill. "This is going to be a very difficult task."

The measure also would allow for federal screeners to be easily fired and would let the Department of Transportation bypass federal rulemaking procedures for emergency security rules. It would create a new transportation security agency within DOT, which would pull aviation security responsibilities from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The bill also would require that all baggage screeners be U.S. citizens, proficient in English and without a criminal record.

In addition, within 60 days of the bill's enactment, screeners must examine all luggage – checked and carry-on – by "all means possible," even if that requires examining checked bags by hand. By the end of 2002, all bags would have to be screened for explosives.