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Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Testimony
January 23, 2002 Wednesday
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY

LENGTH: 1196 words

COMMITTEE: HOUSE TRANSPORTATION

HEADLINE: IMPLEMENTATION OF CHECKED BAGGAGE SCREENING

TESTIMONY-BY: CAROL B. HALLETT, PRESIDENT & CEO

AFFILIATION: AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC.

BODY:
January 23, 2002

Statement of Carol B. Hallett President & CEO Air Transport Association of America, Inc.

Before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Aviation Subcommittee

Good afternoon, I am Carol Hallett, President and CEO of the Air Transport Association of America. On behalf of our member airlines, let me begin my statement with a heartfelt thank you, Mr. Chairman, to you and your colleagues for the vision and leadership you and this Committee have provided over these last, difficult months. What you have done and are doing, along with the rest of the Congress and the Administration, is deeply appreciated.

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 tremendous strides have been made in totally revamping our aviation security system to respond to what was previously the unthinkable. The industry has responded with unprecedented vigor. Strengthened cockpit doors were in place within just weeks; vastly modified passenger and baggage screening measures have been deployed; cargo security has been tightened; and training programs are being developed and deployed. The list of ongoing and new security initiatives is virtually endless.

Enactment of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) was, of course, a pivotal event in this new security era. It has set the course and has marked the milestones - and I am pleased to report to you today that we have successfully accomplished one of the early key requirements established by the Act. This past Friday, the airlines began screening all checked baggage in accordance with the standards established in the law.

In order to meet this challenge, both industry and government officials responsible for aviation security worked together in what can be described as an unprecedented manner. In fact, I would be remiss in not noting the "hands on" effort put forward by Secretary Mineta, Deputy Secretary Jackson, Undersecretary Magaw, Administrator Garvey and Deputy Administrator Belger in working with our team and theirs to get the job done.

One point that has become absolutely clear over the past several months - and particularly so over the past several days as the media has focused so intently on our security program, - is that it is incumbent upon all of us to stop discussing security policies, practices and procedures in public. Just as the Secret Service has not and will not discuss in public its security procedures for protecting the President, so too must we safeguard our aviation security measures.

To do otherwise - to publicly discuss how bag match works, how bags or passengers are selected for other screening, what other techniques and technologies we are deploying - simply provides a roadmap to those who would do us harm.

We, the ATA member carriers, have committed to Undersecretary Magaw that we will defer to him and his agency to respond to specific questions about security. We believe this is best left to the experts.

Moving forward, the next key milestone comes on February 17th when the Transportation Security Administration is to "assume all aviation security functions" in accordance with the provisions of the ATSA. This will involve the establishment of contractual relationships between the TSA and both security contractors at airports and, we expect, with the airlines themselves. In this area, once again, we have been in regular, close communication with the Department of Transportation leadership group.

Recognizing the magnitude of this undertaking, our airlines have pledged to work with the government on a seamless transition as the TSA moves forward to take over security operations, even in those situations where contracts and details remain to be resolved. Our mutual goal is to provide both the security and safety as well as a level of customer service and convenience the public expects.

Beyond this next milestone there are dozens more to come before the end of the year. I expect that we may have the opportunity to discuss many of those with you as the year unfolds, but for now there are three matters of vital interest, which I would like to draw to your attention.

The first is the imperative to quickly establish a coordinated, intelligence-based system of aviation security, which would provide increased levels of screening based upon passenger information and criteria.

We envision working with sophisticated information technology, government intelligence and law enforcement experts to develop a "trusted traveler," biometrically encoded, voluntary, access card.

This system would enable enhanced intelligence collection and data sharing, and permit much more focused and effective screening for those few passengers who actually bring credible risk.

A comprehensive security product with man and machine, and good intelligence from our Federal agencies, along with passenger convenience, is where we should be focused.

The second vital matter is the question of war risk insurance. The airline industry financial stabilization legislation contained a provision--section 201(b)--that authorized the Secretary of Transportation to limit an airline's liability to $ 100-million if an act of terrorism were committed against it. That provision of the law expires on March 20th.

If that occurs, U.S. airlines will lose an essential shield against liability created by situations far beyond their control with no realistic alternatives available.

Acts of terrorism are brutal acts ultimately directed against the United States and this provision recognizes that reality. Continuing this limitation will aid us in our ongoing efforts to find an alternative to provide war-risk insurance to U.S. airlines.

Any self-help effort must enable airlines to obtain war-risk insurance on commercially realistic terms than are being offered in the market today. We consequently are urging Congress to extend the $ 100-million liability limitation indefinitely and we hope you will take the lead once again to assure this critically important program is continued.

Third and finally, as we have discussed with you before, it is our view that the events of September 11, 2001 must mark a sea change in how we think about and fund the aviation security program in the United States. This can no longer be viewed narrowly, as something to be addressed just in the context of aviation and funded by the airlines and their customers.

Aviation security is national security -and it must be treated and funded as a national security priority. Just as we do not turn to subgroups of taxpayers to support the Defense Department or the Capitol Police, we should not expect aviation system users to shoulder the full cost of the nation's protection from aviation terrorism. This committee has paved the way to find the support and funding for the ongoing deployment of the security equipment and programs required by the Act, and we look forward to working with you to identify additional resources in this regard. This effort will help ensure that our nation never again faces the trauma of that awful day.

Thank you and I would be pleased to respond to your questions.



LOAD-DATE: January 24, 2002