Copyright 2002 Federal News Service, Inc. Federal News Service
February 5, 2002, Tuesday
SECTION: PREPARED TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 2175 words
HEADLINE:
PREPARED STATEMENT OF MICHAEL JACKSON DEPUTY SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION UNDER
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION FOR SECURITY
BEFORE
THE SENATE COMMERCE, SCIENCE AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
BODY: Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
We are pleased to appear before you today and wish to
thank the Committee for calling this hearing on a matter of critical importance
to the Nation-ensuring the security d air travel across the United States and
implementing the Aviation and Transportation Security Act.
Introduction
On behalf of Secretary Mineta, we
want to assure Congress that the Department of Transportation is making and will
continue to make every effort to fulfill each and every deadline
contained in the statute enacted on November 19 last year. Your leadership in
passing the Aviation and Transportation Security Act----creating the
Transportation Security Administration--means that Americans will continue to
exercise their right to travel free from the fear of terrorist violence. As you
know, the President has appointed John Magaw to take on the challenging task of
establishing TSA and carrying out the mandates of the Act. We wish to thank the
Senate for confirming his nomination last week.
In just
a few months, TSA will have hired tens of thousands of new employees to screen
passengers and baggage at 429 airports nationwide. We will have put in place
additional employee background screening tools in the aviation industry. With
our public and private sector partners, we will strengthen every mode of
transportation based upon comprehensive security assessments.
As part of that effort, Secretary Mineta announced recently that,
beginning last month, TSA is working with the State of Maryland to use
Baltimore-Washington International Airport as a site to study airport security
operations, test TSA deployment techniques and technology, and begin to train
senior managers for TSA.
This testimony will address
two topics: first, meeting the baggage- screening and other deadlines
established by the Act, and second, developing TSA into a functioning agency as
rapidly as possible.
1. Deadlines in the
Aviation and Transportation Security Act
From the date
of enactment, the Secretary has focused our efforts intensively on complying
with or exceeding the deadlines established in the new law. As Secretary
Mineta has stated, we consider the law' s tight deadlines as promises
made to the American people, and we will do everything humanly possible to keep
these promises. Secretary Mineta has given those of us in DOT a simple mandate
with regard to these deadlines: let' s figure out how to meet them,
because they are not negotiable. To date, our efforts have been successful.
As you know, we met the" 30 day" deadlines-action
on Enhanced Class B airspace, qualifications for future screeners, a report on
general aviation security, and claims procedures for reimbursement of direct
security-related costs for airport operators and certain vendors.
January 18 marked the" 60 day" deadline for action.
Among the 60-day deadlines, the requirement for 100% screening of checked
baggage was the most important and the most challenging. While security
considerations prevent us from discussing details of the comprehensive
baggage-checking measures in a public forum, let me say that the approach
contemplated in the Act--employing a combination of explosive detection
equipment and alternative techniques as set forth in that provision by
Congress--has been adopted.
We are continuing to work
with the airlines to take the necessary action to meet the bag-checking
requirement, using the full menu of options provided for in the law. Passengers,
airline staff, and current screeners have already experienced changes as a
result. We will have overlapping, mutually reinforcing layers of security, some
of which are visible, like screening stations, while others remain unseen, like
intelligence, undercover work and state-of-the-art technology tools.
Explosive detection equipment is a vital part of our
baggage-checking program. Every available explosive detection machine will be
used to its maximum capacity. Where we do not yet have such equipment in place,
we will use other options outlined in the law. On originating flights, checked
baggage will be matched to passengers on board. Computers will screen
passengers, and passengers will be screened for weapons----often multiple times.
In addition, more bags will also be subject to sniffing by trained dogs, to more
comprehensive screening by both explosive-detection and explosive trace
detection devices, to manual searches, or to a combination of those
techniques.
We will work to meet the requirement that
each checked bag be screened by explosive detection equipment by the end of this
year. Working with a team of consultants, we are looking at a wide variety of
innovative approaches using technology, different ways to run the check-in
process, and procurement strategies that can get us to that goal.
September 11 taught us that our enemies are willing to die
to attack us, and that means that we must successfully screen all baggage and
cargo on a passenger flight, not just succeed at matching bags to passengers.
Screening all baggage and cargo through detection technology is therefore among
one of our highest priorities.
In addition to the bag
screening requirement, there are several other 60-day deadlines that we
met:
- FAA issued its guidelines for flight crews who
face threats onboard an aircraft.
- Air carriers began
to electronically transmit foreign airline passenger manifests.
- We released our screener training plan, which was written with input
from leading government and private sector training experts.
- We also issued the necessary guidance to implement the new September
11 $2.50 Passenger Security Fee on airline tickets sold on or after February 1,
which will help finance TSA operations.
Early on, Under
Secretary Magaw and FAA Administrator Jane Garvey combined the efforts of TSA
and FAA Civil Aviation Security staffs to implement our new program of
initiatives to meet the 30- and 60 day deadlines. And as of yesterday,
the TSA officially assumed responsibility for the personnel and functions of the
FAA' s Office of Civil Aviation Security.
The enormous
contributions of our team of dedicated employees has been the most important
factor in our success to date. We also appreciate the input of the Nation's
airports, air carriers and aviation industry trade associations; their
cooperation was an important factor in our efforts to successfully meet these
deadlines.
In concluding this portion of the
testimony, we would like to mention the other future deadlines on which
the TSA and the Department are most focused.
On
February 17, just a few days from today, TSA will take over the aviation screening responsibility that has been the airlines' up
until now by assuming the airline screening contracts and equipment that provide
passenger screening at the Nation' s airports. We will implement the charter air
carrier security program mandated by Congress. Most significantly, we will also
begin to staff TSA with sufficient Federal screeners and other personnel to be
able to certify to Congress on November 19 of this year that we have complied
with section 110(c) of the Act to carry out all passenger screening with Federal
personnel.
This brings us to the second topic, bringing
TSA on line.
2. Making the Transportation Security
Administration a Functioning Agency
The new TSA is
foremost a security agency. We will use all the tools at our
disposal-intelligence, regulation, enforcement, inspection, screening and
education of carriers, passengers and shippers. Under Secretary Magaw is
assembling a seasoned group of managers to assist him in creating the
headquarters and field organization and fully staffing it within 10 months. The
process itself entails consultation and participation by many outside
groups--airlines, airport executives, labor unions, screening companies, airport
vendors, airplane and security equipment manufacturers, trade associations and
experts of many sorts.
To jumpstart work on critical
tasks, we created" Go-Teams," to work intensively on specific tasks, present
decision options, and then disband. Some of these have successfully completed
their tasks and moved on. At present, we have some 36 Go-Teams launched and
operating. They cover a thousand details small and large--from what uniforms the
TSA security force will wear, to the procurement, installation and maintenance
of explosive detection equipment for 429 airports. In addition, we have teams
developing detailed strategies to protect not only passengers, cargo, and people
working in and moving through airports, but also physical assets such as
aircraft and terminal facilities.
Funding and staffing
up this enterprise are enormous challenges. We are relying on the FAA Civil
Aviation Security organization, which is now incorporated into TSA, the
Secretary' s Office of Intelligence and Security, and detailees from throughout
the Department to undertake the many procurement, personnel, and provisioning
challenges we face. The Secretary has formed a DOT Management Committee that
makes assignments, tracks progress, and reports to him on the accomplishment of
discrete projects. This process has accounted for our ability to meet the Act's
deadlines and to produce the highest quality results.
A great deal of coordination within the Executive Branch is necessary
to bring staff and resources online in an expedited manner, and we plan to place
heavy reliance on the new Transportation Security Oversight Board composed of
cabinet Secretaries and representatives of intelligence and national security
groups, in particular the Office of Homeland Security. Unprecedented cooperation
by these entities and the Office of Management and Budget on funding issues has
already assisted us greatly.
The President' s 2003
budget for TSA requests $4.8 billion, an increase of $3.6 billion above the
level of funds provided directly to TSA in fiscal year 2002 and $2.5 billion
above the amounts appropriated to both TSA and the Federal Aviation
Administration. The $4.8 billion would be funded through a combination of direct
appropriations, offsetting collections in the form of the passenger security fee
of $2.50 and an airline charge. The total for the offsetting collections is
estimated to be $2.2 billion. Resource information for the Federal Air Marshal
program can be provided in a classified document or briefing.
TSA's budget has been presented to Congress in a service-oriented
manner, rather than by expense type (i.e. operating expense, capital costs, and
research). These broad service areas are security operations, law enforcement,
intelligence, and security regulation and enforcement, and include headquarters
and field resources with administrative, support and management personnel.
We are creating a flat organizational structure at TSA
that emphasizes front-line service delivery with well-trained managers and is
supported with an array of services deployed from Washington.
One key to our success at airports nationwide will be a core of senior
managers, the Federal Security Directors. These FSDs are the strong front-line
managers, who will bring federal authority directly to the point of service, the
airport. Under Secretary Magaw will select the first FSDs shortly.
Another key to the success of our efforts will be baggage
screeners. The Under Secretary is designing a compensation and benefit structure
that will help attract the highest quality employees while also developing a
fair process that allows us to quickly remove those who neglect their work.
Screeners will receive compensation that is substantially higher than what
screeners generally now receive and also full Federal benefits, including health
insurance and leave and retirement pro grams. We believe that this compensation
and benefit package will have a positive effect on screener retention rates and
effectiveness. In addition, we will create a career path and provide other job
enhancements for the screener workforce. In December of last year, we announced
the qualifications for the new screeners. As required by the Act, these new
screeners must meet strict requirements before they are hired and must
successfully complete a rigorous training program and pass an exam before they
can be deployed.
The TSA is charged with security for
all modes of transportation, and a focus on aviation must not slow the TSA' s
pace in addressing the security needs of other transportation modes. Across
every mode, we must continue to develop measures to increase the protection of
critical transportation assets, addressing freight as well as passenger
transportation. We will maintain a commitment to measure performance
relentlessly, building a security organization that provides world-class
security, and world-class customer service, to those who travel.
The new security system will be robust and redundant, and we will be
relentless in our search for improvements. It is better today than yesterday;
and it will be better still tomorrow.
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