Dateline: 11/02/01

The U.S. House of Representatives late Thursday, voted 286-139 for passage of a version of the Airport Security bill that places airport security functions under federal supervision, but continues to allow airport screening positions to be filled by private contractors.

Just prior to this vote, the House rejected 214-218, a version of the bill passed 100-0 by the Senate on October 11, which requires security screeners at larger airports to be federal employees, and state or local law enforcement officers at smaller airports. The bill was offered as a substitute amendment by Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minnesota).

Since the House- and Senate-passed bills differ, a joint conference committee must now meet to reconcile differences before a final bill can be sent to President Bush. The conference committee will not convene until next week,

• House Version - H.R. 3150 - Secure Transportation for America Act of 2001
• Senate Version - S. 1447 - Aviation Security Act

In the House, Republicans favored the version of the bill that was approved, while Democrats argued for the Senate-passed version federalizing all aspects of airport screening.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer stated that the President would have reluctantly signed the Senate-passed version of the bill had it been approved by the House. President Bush opposes making screening personnel federal employees.

Both House- and Senate- approved bills provide for:

• Airport security will be supervised by a newly created office under the Department of Transportation.
• Pilots will be allowed to carry guns if they choose to do so and complete a firearms use and safety training course.
• Cockpit doors on all aircraft will be strengthened.
• All checked-in bagged will be screened before being loaded onto aircraft.
• The number of armed Air Marshals assigned to flights will be increased.
• Background checks will be required of persons taking flight lessons.
• A user-fee of $2.50 per passenger will be assessed to help pay for increased security measures.

The House-passed bill establish a new Transportation Security Administration to oversee security on all modes of transportation, while the Senate's bill places the Department of Justice in charge of hiring, training and supervising all airport security personnel.

Debate over whether or not to federalize airport security will certainly be the sticking point in the conference committee and sure to come up often during that debate will be the "Argenbright experience."

Argenbright Security Failures
Argenbright Security Inc. is a private security firm contracted to provide security at several large U.S. airports, including Philadelphia International. In May 2000, Argenbright pleaded guilty to allowing untrained employees, including some with criminal backgrounds, to operate passenger screening stations in clear violation of FAA regulations. Argenbright was assessed $1.55 million in fines, placed on probation for three years and ordered to operate under a "mandatory and comprehensive compliance program."

Under the terms of its probation, Argenbright was ordered to conduct "fingerprint based criminal background checks" on all of its employees and agreed it would bar all employees from working in sensitive positions until they had cleared the background checks.

On Saturday, Oct. 20, the U.S. Department of Justice stated they expected officials of Argenbright to admit it had failed complete the employee background checks as required by the court.

Besides Philadelphia, Argenbright provides passenger screening and security at airports nationwide including Newark International, Boston Logan International, O'Hare International in Chicago and Dulles International in Washington, D.C.

On September 11, all four of the planes hijacked and used in the terrorist attacks took off from airports at which Argenbright had been responsible for security. Two planes left from Boston Logan and one each departed from Dulles and Newark International.

While investigators have not connected any Argenbright employees to the September 11 hijackings, the company's history of failing to comply with FAA regulations is sure to be a main arguing point for Democrats in the conference who favor federalizing airport security.

• Good Book? The Dance of Legislation, by Eric Redman 
Long considered a standard in books describing the congressional process of lawmaking, Redman's Dance of Legislation tracks a single controversial bill along its two-year trip through Congress.