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.

[MileHi]

ROTFLMAO!

[Jorge]

I also originally favored federalizing the security....but the more I listened to the arguments, and the more I heard about this approach failing in Europe and Israel....the more I realized that the Bush/Republican bill was the way to go.

I'm glad the House defeated the Democrat bill.

[blam]

Very good news.

[jwalsh07]

I might add they have already held this bill up for three weeks. That's three weeks that we could have been getting the new and improved federal employees trained and in place

I might add this, how many planes have been hijacked in that time?

You lost the debate. The President has enough power to expedite whatever he wants to. The idea that federalizing baggage screeners will make flying safer ins nonsense. Baggage screeners are NOT law enforcement. Law Enforcement officers would go nuts doing such a mundane job on a daily basis.

[johnpaul]

Good news!

[LiberteeBell]

I have worked for the fedgov. The bureaucracy is unbelievable for lack of a better word to describe it. Firing a civil servant is darn near impossible, regardless of the offense. The worst thing for airport safety would be nationalization.

[jackbill]

The patriotic thing to do would have been to swallow a loss for the country and vote for the Senate bill in its entirety, politics and political ideology be damned. At least we could fly safely immediately.

If you think that having federal government employees screening baggage is going to make you safe, you're delusional.

Have you been paying attention? Wasn't it the INS and the State Department "government employees" who let many of the terriorists into the country? Wasn't it the refusal of the "government employees" in the FBI and the CIA who didn't communicate with each other - in order to protect their turf?

As Congressman John Mica (R-FL) stated today in the "debate", there is a list of 26 federal government agencies that use private contractor security. As a former employee of a defense department contractor, I'm fairly certain that three of these agencies are the CIA, the NSA and the Tonopah Test Range - better known to tin foilers here as Area 51.

What is it that these agencies know about using federal employees for security that makes them decide to use private contractors?

[FairWitness]

Baggage screeners are NOT law enforcement. Law Enforcement officers would go nuts doing such a mundane job on a daily basis.

Unless they are Barney Fife (sp?) clones.

[jojonomo55]

I agree, i think that this was a big mistake. The GOP is going to once again look like they are sucking up to big business, the people arent going to become more confident with the security at airports and i believe that this is going to hurt the airline industry and the economy in the long run.

speaking for myself, i would feel safer knowing that the screener works for the government than for a company who may be hiring unqualified underpaid people to keep from going bankrupt themselves.

[VA Advogado]

GO GOP GO. Great unity. Whenever Howdy Doody Gephart get to shouting like that I know their hitting him where he's soft.

[clintonh8r]

Another one in the neck for Little Dick, the RATs and the senate RINOs. All in all a very good thing.

[Imagine]

If it is good enough for us, it is good enough for the American people.'' Is the retirement plan these congresscritters have good enouh for us too????

[jokemoke]

DemocRATS seem to think if you are a union member you are a better worker - WRONG!!! I am a union worker, have been union all my working life. Sorry folks, the union members are NOT the best workers anymore.

Unions have created a bunch of self-centered lazy whiners.... And they all sit on their butts and wonder why the big companies are moving out of the U.S.....duh!

[oust the louse]

great reply.You tell!

[MamaLucci]

Ask yourself this question, what would have changed if the "baggage screeners" had been federal employees?
The answer is nothing.
Now ask yourself this. With affirmative action running wild in governemnt unions,
would the best people have gotten the job or the right people?
Is the post office or federal express more efficient and better run?
And try this on for size. In the eighties in Europe with government security,
30 hijackings occurred. In the 90's with private security and government oversight 4 hijackings.


Don't confuse the issue with facts, fer cryin out loud!
GREAT points.

[jwalsh07]

speaking for myself, i would feel safer knowing that the screener works for the government than for a company who may be hiring unqualified underpaid people to keep from going bankrupt themselves.

Jojo, these are the people that gave us 1000 dollar crescent wrenches. Knock, knock....

[FairWitness]

Unless they are Barney Fife (sp?) clones.

For anybody who does not know Barney:

[vmatt]

This was the right decision. Federal civil servants are the hotbead of such policies as welfare to work, non-merit and preference based hiring practices and all kinds of social experiments. The civil service should be dismantled, not expanded. It's already the biggest employer in the world!

DISMANTLE THE CIVIL SERVICE NOW! Take all the federal lawyers, judges, senior service executives and elected official's wives, friends, kids, other family members, interns and the like and send them packing to a real world job.

[clintonh8r]

Da man!