Contact:  Steve Hansen (Director of Communications)  (202) 225-7749
 Email: Steve.Hansen@mail.house.gov
     Justin Harclerode (Deputy Director of Communications)  (202) 226-8767
  Email: Justin.Harclerod@mail.house.gov
To:  National Desk/Transportation Reporter
July 19, 2002

        Washington, D.C. - Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta and the agency’s Assistant Inspector General will testify on Tuesday before a Congressional panel on the status of several important issues relating to the nation’s anti-terrorism aviation security programs.

        The hearing by the U.S. House Subcommittee on Aviation, chaired by U.S. Rep. John Mica (R-FL), will be split into two parts.  The first session that will be open to the public is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 23rd, in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building. Live audio and video broadcasts of the hearing will be available at the Committee’s website:

        The second portion of the hearing will be classified and will be closed to the public.

- Alexis Stefani, Assistant Inspector General for Auditing, Department of Transportation

        Former Under Secretary for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) John Magaw had been scheduled to appear before the Subcommittee but will not testify due his resignation on Thursday.

        In the eight months since the law was passed, a number of issues have arisen that will be the subject of the hearing including:

        Checked Baggage Screening Deadline:  The law requires the TSA to deploy enough explosive detection systems by the end of this year to screen all checked baggage.  TSA has said this will require about 1,100 bulk detection machines, such as the CTX or L3, and about 5,000 trace detection machines.

        Some airports have complained that they will not be able to reconstruct their terminals by the end of the year to accommodate all the large bulk detection machines.  Although the law provides flexibility in such cases, some airports are seeking an extension of the deadline.  U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) has introduced a bill that would permit an airport to submit a plan, with its own deadline, for accommodating explosive detection systems if it cannot accommodate them by the end of this year.

        Arming Pilots To Combat Terrorist Attacks:  On July 10th, the House passed legislation by a vote of 310-113 to allow all pilots to carry guns to defend the cockpit against the hijacker.  The Administration opposes this bill.

        Profiling Passengers:  The TSA has a system known as the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS), which is designed to select those passengers who warrant additional security.  However, frequently this system seems to select senior citizens, young children, or others who do not seem to pose a terrorist risk.  TSA is working on a new profiling system, known as CAPPS II, which is supposed to better select those who should receive additional scrutiny.  However, many people are concerned that the CAPPS II system will constitute an invasion of privacy.  Others are concerned that any profiling system will single out people on the basis of race, color or national origin.

        Screener Competence:  Recent tests of screener performance found that they missed about 25 percent of the fake guns and bombs in 387 government-sanctioned smuggling tests at 32 airports.  This is particularly troubling because undercover officers probing the system were instructed not to make dummy weapons difficult for screeners to find.

        Federalization Of The Screener Workforce:  One of the most controversial aspects of the original aviation security legislation was whether those who screen passengers and carry-on baggage should be Federal employees or employees of private security companies.  The compromise legislation that was signed into law required that all but five of the 429 commercial airports have Federal screeners.

        The conversion to a Federal workforce was supposed to be completed by November 19th, 2002.

        To date, only three airports have been federalized.

        If there are not enough Federal screeners on November 19th, it is possible that TSA may have to limit the number of open passenger checkpoints to only the limited number it can fully staff. This would result in longer passenger queues.

        Unexpected Growth Of TSA Workforce:  When Congress was considering security legislation last year, estimates were that the TSA workforce would range from 28,000 to 31,000 employees.  Now, it is estimated that the workforce could dramatically increase to as much as 67,000 employees.  The Supplemental Appropriations bill, which passed the House, would cap the TSA workforce at 45,000 employees.

        Cargo Security:  Most cargo is not screened by x-ray or other mechanical devices.  Rather, the security of cargo is insured either by participation in the known-shipper-program or by actual inspection of the cargo.  However, reports indicate that there are holes in the known-shipper-program and much of the cargo from unknown shippers is not rigorously inspected.

        Airport Workers & Inspections Of Contents:  Many people, such as food caterers and aircraft fuelers, drive trucks into the secured areas of airports.  While those employees may be subject to background checks, there is little or no inspection of the contents of the trucks that are driven onto the airport property.

        Airport Perimeter Security:  Many airports seem to rely on natural boundaries, such as water, to keep intruders off the airport property.  But it is not clear that these would keep a determined terrorist out of the secured areas of the airport.  There have also been reports recently of thefts of aviation workers’ uniforms and IDs.

        General Aviation:  Some have expressed concern that a private pilot could fill a plane with explosives and use it to blow up a building, national monument, nuclear plant, or dam.  Others fear that a small crop duster could be used to spread germs or other toxic or biological agents.  The airport and general aviation communities have suggested various ways to beef up general aviation security.  However, they remain concerned that TSA will impose onerous requirements that will not improve security but will prevent many law-abiding general aviation pilots from continuing to fly.