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During debate over a bill to provide financial relief for the aviation industry still feeling the effects of last year’s terrorist attacks, the House Aviation Subcommittee yesterday adopted an amendment by Rep. Tauscher to improve aviation security.

To date, no federal agency has developed an overall threat assessment that identifies and ranks the most probable threats to airports.

"Since September 11, we can no longer afford to be making security decisions in a vacuum," said Rep. Tauscher. "Airport security officials should be in the loop on the threats our country faces, and Congress should be sure we’re spending money on measures that will truly improve security."

Rep. Tauscher’s amendment requires the Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, to report to Congress on the threats facing U.S. airports.

It would also require a classified report to Congress assessing the federally-mandated security measures taken to date and make recommendations for any future security measures. This would help Congress measure the threats facing our airports in order to make informed decisions about future funding for security measures.

The amendment was adopted during the markup of the Aviation Industry Stabilization and Reform Act of 2002 (H.R. 5506).

Rep. Tauscher supports the financial relief legislation saying, "The aviation industry is too important to our economy and to our national infrastructure for Congress to adjourn without passing a bill, but Congress has to be careful about what our role is and not put our thumb on the scale to keep bad business models afloat. I think this bill would provide the right amount of relief by fine-tuning our original legislation to reflect the new conditions facing the industry."

The bill, as amended, now awaits action by the full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.