House rejects creation of federal work force for screening (Airport Security)

StLtoday.com ^ | 11-1-01 | Jim Abrams

[FairWitness]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House rejected a plan Thursday to turn airport screening operations over to federal employees, handing a major victory to the White House and its Republican allies.

The 218-214 vote to defeat the Senate-passed, Democratic-backed alternative set the stage for passing a GOP aviation security bill that would allow screening to be contracted out to private employers. A vote on the Republican bill was to come later Thursday evening.

[FReethesheeples]

HOORAY!!

[DLfromthedesert]

Gee, why don't we get you a Federal employee to wipe your butt? The government is NOT going to keep us safe; get over it!! Or should we send a nanny from the Government to your house?

[patriciaruth]

2-2 tied bottom of the ninth.

[Eva]

I am not going to get into what his wife was doing, but believe me, she needed controlling, or a little self-control.

[VA Advogado]

Conservatives for Harkin?

If I lived in Iowa I would be voting for Harkin over Ganske. An ememy inside your camp can do a lot more damage than one outside it. Witness McSHAME and all the trouble he causes.

[patriciaruth]

An ememy inside your camp can do a lot more damage than one outside it.

My, but we see the world from such different perspectives. I'd be very happy to have Jeffords still registered as a Republican, rather than Daschle carrying the title of Majority Leader and all the difficulties that has caused us.

[DLfromthedesert]

Thanks; I know :(

[MadEagle]

...think alike :)

[rwfromkansas]

Yeah, Bush really has come around....I thought he was originally for a complete federalization. Well, he has shown that he is not, just for it to a point and that is a point that I am okay with. I do think the govt. needs more involved with standards etc., just not be the screeners.

[Amore]

"Yup there are a lot of uninformed people. They just don't know they are uninformed. **coughyoucough**"

Too funny! (But don't you feel just a little guilty engaging jojo... in such a lopsided battle of wits?)

[marajade]

They've got to find someone to run against Ganske in the primaries for Senate. With this and the health care bill can you imagine him in the senate?

[marajade]

Did you look at the final count? A lot of Dems voted for the Republican bill after theirs lost.

[kcvl]

instead of immediately having an improved federal force checking luggage, we have to wait for a committee to reconcile the two bills, then a further vote, etc. etc.

Do you know how LONG it takes to hire a Federal employee AFTER the background checks? It would have taken YEARS to hire 18,000 Federal employees. That's just to start with. By the time they hired 30,000 Osama bin Laden would have died of OLD AGE.

[Gumption County]

If private companies are contracted to do it, and proper standards are set, it will be cheaper and more efficient.

Sounds right.

Unionization would not provide any measure of safety above that which would be provided by more stringent oversight of private security companies.

It might, in fact, provide less secure skies, if the experience of the Israelis is any guide.

[Bahbah]

Thanks, piasa. That says it all.

[ACE1]

It seem to me that Clintons and Democrats never met a U.S. disaster they did not like. They feed on the bad news to advance their agenda. Terrorist exploit the weakness of any system and use the element of surprise. People were legally allowed to take the knives and sharp objects on planes before September 11, 2001. I do not understand how having Federal employees would have prevented that.

[AmericanDave]

Most people miss that arming the pilots as "Reserve Air Marshals" or some such, without additional pay; is the only FREE part of this whole security program! And could have been the quickest to implement......

[goodnesswins]

"If you want to do some research, do some research on the Secret Service, the military and the people who protect the congress (all federal employees). How well have they worked in the last 50 years?"

EXACTLY. Some things need to be reviewed for their privatization - but those that will put their lives on the line - call for a certain kind of FEDERALIZATION - what the government was originally set up for - PROTECTING US.