Posted on 11/20/2001 9:02:51 AM PST by Magnum44
The following are excerpts from the Airport Security Federalization Act of 2001 which anyone can find on the web. I, like many others here, have been concerned about the impacts of legislation that would increase government roles, while still being realistic about responses to 9-11.
I've clipped some pertinent sections for comment. Here they are:
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SEC. 102. SCREENING OF PASSENGERS AND PROPERTY.
`(d) ASSUMPTION OF SCREENING FUNCTION BY UNDER SECRETARY-
`(1) IN GENERAL- The responsibility for the screening of passengers and property on passenger aircraft in air transportation that originates in the United States or intrastate air transportation that, on the date of enactment of this subsection, was performed by an employee or agent of an air carrier, intrastate air carrier, or foreign air carrier shall be assumed by the Under Secretary.
`(2) ADDITIONAL SCREENING AUTHORITY- The Under Secretary may perform any such additional screening of passengers and property on passenger aircraft in air transportation that originates in the United States or intrastate air transportation that the Under Secretary deems necessary to enhance aviation security.
`(e) SUPERVISION OF SCREENING- All screening of passengers and property at airports under this section shall be supervised by uniformed Federal personnel of the Transportation Security Administration who shall have the power to order the dismissal of any individual performing such screening.
`(f) LIMITATION ON RIGHT TO STRIKE- An individual that screens passengers or property, or both, at an airport under this section may not participate in a strike, or assert the right to strike, against the person (including a governmental entity) employing such individual to perform such screening.
`(g) DEPUTIZATION OF AIRPORT SCREENING PERSONNEL- The Under Secretary shall deputize, for enforcement of such Federal laws as the Under Secretary determines appropriate, all airport screening personnel as Federal transportation security agents and shall ensure that such agents operate under common standards and common uniform, insignia, and badges. The authority to arrest an individual may be exercised only by supervisory personnel who are sworn, full-time law enforcement officers.'.
SEC. 104. EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS AND TRAINING.
`(6) a requirement that all personnel who screen passengers and property be citizens of the United States;
`(7) a requirement that any private security firm retained to provide airport security services be owned and controlled by a citizen of the United States, to the extent that the President determines that there are firms owned and controlled by such citizens;
`(8) minimum compensation levels, when appropriate;
`(9) a preference for the hiring of any individual who is a member or former member of the armed forces and who is entitled, under statute, to retired, retirement, or retainer pay on account of service as a member of the armed forces; and
`(10) a preference for the hiring of any individual who is a former employee of an air carrier and whose employment with the air carrier was terminated as a result of a reduction in the workforce of the air carrier.'.
`(g) TRAINING FOR ALL SCREENERS, SUPERVISORS, AND INSTRUCTORS-
`(1) IN GENERAL- The Under Secretary shall require any individual who screens passengers and property pursuant to section 44901, and the supervisors and instructors of such individuals, to have satisfactorily completed all initial, recurrent, and appropriate specialized training necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of this section.
`(2) ON-THE-JOB PORTION OF SCREENER'S TRAINING- Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Under Secretary may permit an individual, during the on-the-job portion of training, to perform security functions if the individual is closely supervised and does not make independent judgments as to whether persons or property may enter secure areas or aircraft or whether cargo may be loaded aboard aircraft without further inspection.
`(3) EFFECT OF SCREENER'S FAILURE OF OPERATION TEST- The Under Secretary may not allow an individual to perform a screening function after the individual has failed an operational test related to that function until the individual has successfully completed remedial training.
`(h) UNIFORMS- The Under Secretary shall require any individual who screens passengers and property pursuant section 44901 to be attired in a uniform, approved by the Under Secretary, while on duty.'.
(d) INTERIM EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS FOR SCREENING PERSONNEL- In the period beginning 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on the first date that a final rule issued by the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security under section 44935(e)(1) of title 49, United States Code, takes effect, the following requirements shall apply to an individual who screens passengers and property pursuant to section 44901 of such title (in this subsection referred to as a `screener'):
(1) EDUCATION- A screener shall have a high school diploma, a general equivalency diploma, or a combination of education and experience that the Under Secretary has determined to have equipped the individual to perform the duties of the screening position.
(2) BASIC APTITUDES AND PHYSICAL ABILITIES- A screener shall have basic aptitudes and physical abilities (including color perception, visual and aural acuity, physical coordination, and motor skills) and shall have--
(A) the ability to identify the components that may constitute an explosive or an incendiary device;
(B) the ability to identify objects that appear to match those items described in all current regulations, security directives, and emergency amendments;
(C) for screeners operating X-ray and explosives detection system equipment, the ability to distinguish on the equipment monitors the appropriate images;
(D) for screeners operating any screening equipment, the ability to distinguish each color displayed on every type of screening equipment and explain what each color signifies;
(E) the ability to hear and respond to the spoken voice and to audible alarms generated by screening equipment in an active checkpoint or other screening environment;
(F) for screeners performing manual searches or other related operations, the ability to efficiently and thoroughly manipulate and handle such baggage, containers, cargo, and other objects subject to security processing;
(G) for screeners performing manual searches of cargo, the ability to use tools that allow for opening and closing boxes, crates, or other common cargo packaging;
(H) for screeners performing screening of cargo, the ability to stop the transfer of suspect cargo to passenger air carriers;
(I) for screeners performing pat-down or hand-held metal detector searches of persons, sufficient dexterity and capability to thoroughly conduct those procedures over a person's entire body; and
(J) the ability to demonstrate daily a fitness for duty without any impairment due to illegal drugs, sleep deprivation, medication, or alcohol.
(3) COMMAND OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE- A screener shall be able to read, speak, write, and understand the English language well enough to--
(A) carry out written and oral instructions regarding the proper performance of screening duties;
(B) read English language identification media, credentials, airline tickets, documents, air waybills, invoices, and labels on items normally encountered in the screening process;
(C) provide direction to and understand and answer questions from English-speaking persons undergoing screening or submitting cargo for screening; and
(D) write incident reports and statements and log entries into security records in the English language. :
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There is a lot more verbage in the bill, but so far I do not find a specific requirement that screeners be federal employees, only supervised by a federal employee responsible to the undersecretary of transportation.
Additional content of the bill addresses, among other things, sky marshalls, (which I think few would dispute the necessity of), and various administrative things that really do not directly add to security.
The bill also states that funding of functions aquired by DoT, that were previously under other agencies, will come from the budgets other the agencies that hd those functions aquired.
It seems as though the $2.50 will cover the sky marshalls and the supervisory DoT security folks.
To summarize, 1) while I still have concerns about the expansion of government and government incompetency, aviation safety, I believe DoT/FAA have done fairly well over the years in managing aviation safety. The stong state of the airline travel industry before 9-11 would seem validate this. 2) To me, the bill and its employment requirements do not seem unreasonable. 3)I begin to wonder if the Dems and the media try to make this look like a GWB cave-in just to frustrate the conservative base.
OK, this is somewhat editorial, but its also news, I think.
In answer to a question about a provision for pilots being armed...This is what I can find. Don't know if this answers the question...
Sec. 44918. Enhanced security measures
`(a) IN GENERAL- To the extent the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security determines appropriate, the Under Secretary shall take the following actions:
`(1) After consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, develop procedures and authorize equipment for pilots and other members of the flight crew to use to defend an aircraft against acts of criminal violence or aircraft piracy.
`(2) After consultation with the Administrator, develop and implement methods to--
`(A) restrict the opening of a cockpit door during a flight;
`(B) fortify cockpit doors to deny access from the cabin to the cockpit;
`(C) use video monitors or other devices to alert pilots in the cockpit to activity in the cabin; and
`(D) ensure continuous operation of an aircraft transponder in the event of an emergency.
`(3) Impose standards for the screening or inspection of persons and vehicles having access to secure areas of an airport.
`(4) Require effective 911 emergency call capability for telephones serving passenger aircraft and passenger trains.
`(5) Provide for the use of voice stress analysis or other technologies to prevent a person who might pose a danger to air safety or security from boarding the aircraft of an air carrier or foreign air carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transportation.
`(6) Develop standards and procedures for the issuance, renewal, and revocation of a certificate of qualification for individuals who screen passengers and property at an airport.
`(7) Establish performance goals for individuals described in paragraph (6), provide for the use of threat image projection or similar devices to test such individuals, and establish procedures to revoke the certification of such individuals if the individuals fail to maintain a required level of proficiency.
`(8) In consultation with air carriers and other government agencies, establish policies and procedures requiring air carriers to use information from government agencies to identify individuals on passenger lists who may be a threat to civil aviation and, if such an individual is identified, to notify appropriate law enforcement agencies and prohibit the individual from boarding an aircraft.
`(9) Provide for the enhanced use of computer profiling to more effectively screen passengers and property that will be carried in the cabin of an aircraft.
`(10) Provide for the use of electronic technology that positively verifies the identity of each employee and law enforcement officer who enters a secure area of an airport.
`(11) After consultation with the Administrator, provide for the installation of switches in an aircraft cabin to enable flight crews to discreetly notify the pilots in the case of a security breach occurring in the cabin.
`(12) Update training procedures used by the Federal Aviation Administration, law enforcement agencies, air carriers, and flight crews during hijackings to include measures relating to suicidal hijackers and other extremely dangerous events not currently described in the training procedures.
`(13) Provide for background checks of individuals seeking instruction (including training through the use of flight simulators) in flying aircraft that has a minimum certificated takeoff weight of more than 12,500 pounds.
`(14) Enter into agreements with Federal, State, and local agencies under which appropriately-trained law enforcement personnel from such agencies, when traveling on a flight of an air carrier, will carry a firearm and be prepared to assist Federal air marshals.
`(15) Require more thorough background checks of persons described in subparagraphs (A), (B)(i), and (B)(ii) of section 44936(a) and paragraph (13) of this subsection, including a review of immigration records, law enforcement databases, and records of other government and international agencies to help determine whether the person may be a threat to civil aviation.
`(16) Establish a uniform system of identification for all State and local law enforcement personnel for use in obtaining permission to carry weapons in aircraft cabins and in obtaining access to a secured area of an airport.
`(17) Establish requirements under which air carriers, under the supervision of the Under Secretary, could implement trusted passenger programs and use available technologies to expedite the security screening of passengers who participate in such programs, thereby allowing security screening personnel to focus on those passengers who should be subject to more extensive screening.
`(18) In consultation with the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, develop security procedures under which a medical product to be transported on a flight of an air carrier would not be subject to manual or x-ray inspection if conducting such an inspection would irreversibly damage the product.
`(19) Develop security procedures to allow passengers transporting a musical instrument on a flight of an air carrier to transport the instrument in the passenger cabin of the aircraft, notwithstanding any size or other restriction on carry-on baggage but subject to such other reasonable terms and conditions as may be established by the Under Secretary or the air carrier, including imposing additional charges by the air carrier.
`(20) Provide for the use of wireless and wire line data technologies enabling the private and secure communication of threats to aid in the screening of passengers and other individuals on airport property who are identified on any State or Federal security-related data base for the purpose of having an integrated response coordination of various authorized airport security forces.
This is a standard government hiring practice to give preference to qualified veterans. Nothing new here.
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