Bush says feds will take leading role in airport security

Federal employees will lead an effort to supervise contractors and tighten security at airports across the country, President Bush said Thursday.

Although Bush said the federal government will "take charge" of baggage and passenger screening, he indicated that government and industry will work together to tighten security standards at the 420 airports that serve civilian air travel.

"The government and the private sector will make flying a way of life again in America," Bush told a flag-waving crowd of airline employees at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Bush did not endorse the idea of hiring federal employees to handle the airport screening process, a proposal included in bipartisan legislation introduced last week by Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, D-S.C., and supported by many Democrats. Hollings' proposed bill (S. 1447) would federalize all airport security operations.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn, ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee, said at a news conference Thursday afternoon that while the President's proposal was "commendable," it was lacking because it did not require federalization of airport security personnel. Oberstar said federal security employees would "substantially improve the quality of the screening process," adding that he was "troubled by reports of proposals to create a nonprofit organization" to handle the process instead.

"We wouldn't think of contracting out our Army," Oberstar said.

Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, also criticized the administration's plan to rely on contractors to provide front-line security. "We cannot rely on the government's track record of ensuring accountability for the work of private contractors," she said. "The American people expect, deserve and demand better."

Kelley cited a recent incident involving the loss or destruction of some 40,000 tax documents by an IRS contractor. "That upset everyone who cares about quality work," she said. "When you look at that performance in the context of airport security, you can see the stakes are so much higher."

Bobby Harnage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, echoed Kelley's comments. "Airport security, like law enforcement, is not a function suitable for outsourcing," he said. "The bottom line for contractors is profit, while the bottom line for the federal government is public safety."

The Air Transport Association, the trade association that represents airlines, also called for a fully federalized security system. ATA President and CEO Carol Hallett said: "The government's assumption of this stronger role in aviation security by meeting these responsibilities will be an important step that will go far in resolving public concerns. It will help dramatically to return the public confidence in our transportation system." The ATA said airport security should be treated as a national security priority and managed as a national defense program, as it is in other countries.

Although Bush did not call for the federalization of airport security, he did move to significantly expand government's role in ensuring air safety. He called on state governors to provide National Guardsmen to patrol the nation's airports, and said that the administration will "dramatically increase" the number of plainclothes sky marshals on airliners.

The administration will also spend $500 million on aircraft security, including subsidizing an effort to fortify cockpit doors with stronger locks and installing video monitors to alert flight crews to trouble in the cabin. The President said the government is also looking into new technology that would help air traffic controllers land troubled airplanes by remote control.

April Fulton of CongressDaily contributed to this report.