Kay Hutchison

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, my time is taken. I apologize, but my time is taken.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I yield 2 minutes to the Senator from Alabama, Mr. Sessions.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, the Air Transportation System Stabilization Act is the effort of the U.S. Congress, working with the President, to shore up the aviation industry in our country. Already we have seen announced almost 100,000 layoffs in the aviation industry in our country. That will have a rippling effect throughout the economy. What we are doing today is trying to stabilize this industry to keep it on its feet in very tough times so we can minimize the layoffs. Hopefully, they will not be as bad as the airlines announced they will be and we can get this country back on track so our economy will stay strong. What this bill does is have $5 billion in immediate assistance to the carriers based on their actual losses for the grounded airplane time they have had. As we know, there is still one airport that does not have service. We still have airlines losing business because of the September 11 tragedy that was not any fault of theirs. We have in addition $10 billion of loan guarantees subject to terms and conditions set by the President. There will be a board created to review and decide on the applications for these Federal credit instruments. The board will be the Secretary of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve Chairman, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Comptroller General. These loans will be based on sound, solid, hopefully, financial integrity. We are also going to put limits on executive compensation of any carrier that gets a part of this airline cash assistance package. We also have provisions for the Secretary of Transportation to provide help for airlines that are the only airline serving a community, and if the airline wants to pull out, we are going to try to encourage that airline to stay in the community. We are dealing with the liability issues, trying to take from the airlines any liability beyond what their insurers will carry. We also have liability provisions for the war risk insurance for all other industries that might be affected in the future with an act of terrorism that is beyond their control so that they will not be liable beyond their means and be put out of business. These are the basic parts of this legislation that we are hoping to pass tonight and send to the President. I yield up to 10 minutes to the Senator from Illinois.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent, following the Senator from New York, to yield time to the Senator from Alabama, who has been waiting for 5 hours.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I yield 5 minutes from my time to the Senator from Virginia.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Our time has been divided.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I yield 3 minutes to the Senator from Pennsylvania.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I was going to make a statement on an amendment I had filed. I did not know the Senator from Georgia was about to speak now. I will be happy to yield to him.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be dispensed with.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I want to speak briefly on an amendment I offered to the armed services bill. It relates to survivor benefits for people in the military who are killed in the line of duty. I had offered this amendment with Senator Inouye actually before September 11, the day that changed all of our lives, because I thought there was an injustice in the law as it deals with our military personnel; that is, if someone died in a training accident or in the line of duty but had not yet retired, he or she would not be entitled to any retirement benefits, even the benefits already earned. So if someone died after 10 years of service and had not had the opportunity to serve the full 20 years, the survivors would have no benefits. I do not think that is the way to treat our military families, so I have been working on a piece of legislation that would allow those people who die in the line of service while on active duty to have the retirement benefits for their survivors--just what they have already accumulated. It would not give them the full 20 years, but it would give them the 5 years they served or the 10 years they served. This is something that now takes on an even bigger, more important role as we are dealing with the issues of September 11 because, as we know, over 100 of our military personnel were in the Pentagon and were killed in the line of service while on active duty. So I am offering this amendment, once again, to the armed services bill. I hope it will be accepted. I hope both sides will agree that all those who were in the Pentagon at the time should have the survivor benefits to which they are entitled by their years of service. The interesting thing about this is that the very parts of the Pentagon where this particular issue was being worked is the part that was hit. I want to specifically mention a couple of the people who were in the Pentagon and who are now missing who were really pushing for my legislation to go forward--not for themselves because they were already retired. But they knew about the dangers of not taking care of our people. They were in the Pentagon talking to the personnel about the necessity of this particular piece of legislation. COL Gary F. Smith, who was the Chief of Army Retirement Services, and Army MSG Max Beilke were working on this legislation. Those two men were in the Pentagon and are now missing as of September 11, 2001. LTC Smith wrote to my staff about this legislation on June 15 saying: Those of us who work on these issues daily know how important this will be. We'll keep our fingers crossed and hope it will get into law. That was written to Jimmie Keenan, who is an Army nurse on my staff detailed to me as an Army fellow. She is an expert in this area and has worked tirelessly on this issue. She has worked long hours. It was because of her experience in working with her fellow members of the military medical corps that she realized there was something wrong. Many times in a training accident, for instance, we go through an elaborate procedure to medically retire someone who is already dead. That is what we have been doing--where we could--if someone died in a training accident. Before we declare a military person dead, we go through a process that medically retires that person. My staff says this isn't right; why would we go through this process when the family is already in trauma and the people around the person who has died are in trauma? Why do we have to go through that? Why don't we just say when someone dies in the line of duty, for heaven's sake, they should have the benefits to which they are entitled by the number of years they serve? She went to work. It is a great idea. Another fellow knew what was needed. And they worked on this for almost a year. It just happens that the people who were working on it with her in the Pentagon will not be able to see this bill pass. But what they will get is the comfort of knowing that their families are going to be taken care of in a much better way than before. I am asking the managers of the bill to put this provision in the managers' amendment. I think it is a very important part of taking care of all members of the military--not only the ones who have died before and not only the ones who died on September 11. I think this is an important message to the members of our military who are getting ready to be called up. Many are already called up. Many are waiting for those orders. That is what our military does. They wait until they are called up to serve their country. They are waiting to be called to service today as we speak and as we are seeing the preparations to enact the war against terrorism that our President so eloquently laid out for the people of America. As we know, the brunt of carrying out the President's orders is going to be on the men and women of our military. I want them to answer the call knowing that if anything does happen to them, their survivors will be entitled to the benefits of their retirement for whatever number of years prorated they would be entitled to under the preretirement laws. I thank Jimmie Keenan and Ray Ivie in my office, along with Michael Ralsky and David Davis who have also helped on this issue. In memory of LTC Gary Smith and MSG Max Beilke, I ask that this amendment be accepted. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, on September 11, 2001, our lives were changed irrevocably. It is a day none of us will forget, a day where each of us will remember exactly where we were when we heard our nation had been attacked and our freedom had been assaulted. We lost so many innocent civilians in New York and so many dedicated military personnel in Washington, DC. The amendment I am introducing today deals with the military. Each of them has made a choice: to defend our Nation, its freedom, and its principles. On September 11, we were reminded of how real that sacrifice is, and how critical those contributions are. We all witnessed the destruction of innocent people and American landmarks. These evil acts did not destroy our spirit, our faith, or our hope. And they will never destroy our freedom--because Americans are resilient, and our men and women in uniform brave. It is why, in my career in public service, I have dedicated myself to supporting and defending these noble men and women and their families who serve our Nation in the Armed Forces. Their courage, their work, and their efforts are important, honorable, and inspiring. We have only just started to deal with the greatest loss to our country since Pearl Harbor; only started to uncover the lasting effects of this heinous evil, and once again our military has been among those directly hit. In the months ahead we will respond and those who serve will put their lives on the line. This is why I introduced legislation in June to ensure that all military personnel who die in the line of duty, like those who died serving their country at the Pentagon, are able to receive retirement benefits they have earned. In the military, personnel are not vested in retirement benefits unless they have served 20 years or more, or unless the services medically retire them before death. Clearly, someone who dies in the line of duty cannot fulfill either of these requirements, meaning their families do not receive their pro rata share of retirement pensions. It is horrible enough for a family to lose a loved one--it is an even greater hardship for them to not receive these earned benefits. I think it is only right that those who die while defending our country and our principles can know that their families will be taken care of by their country. Therefore, today I am submitting an amendment to the Defense authorization bill that will ensure that the surviving spouse receives survivors' retirement benefits commensurate with the number of years their loved one has served--effective September 10, 2001. This is the very least we can do for the families of our men and women in uniform, for the families who lost loved ones on September 11. They have made the ultimate sacrifice, and we must take care of them now. This is no different from a civilian worker's family receiving the retirement accumulated by a lost loved one. Tragically, two of the very men who were working with me on this legislation were killed at the Pentagon on that fateful day. Gary F. Smith, the Chief of Army Retirement Services and a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, and Max Beilke, a member of his staff, a retired Army Master Sergeant, were impressive men who had provided invaluable assistance to me and my staff on this legislation. On June 15, Colonel Smith wrote my staff about this legislation saying, ``Those of us who work on these issues daily know how important this will be. We'll keep our fingers crossed and hope it will get into law.'' In memory of Colonel Smith and Master Sergeant Beilke, I ask that we pass this amendment for those who died September 11 and those who will die in the future in the service of our country. As the true impact of September's horrifying events become even clearer, this legislation would offer a measure of support for families facing unbelievable tragedy. It is, again, the least we can do.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I just ask that if the Senator wants to speak for 10 minutes, could he then wait until others who are trying to go to the National Cathedral, let them have 5 minutes and then perhaps take his 10 minutes?

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to speak for up to 5 minutes.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, a number of Senators wish to speak.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I know a number of Members want to speak. I want to propose that we go back and forth across the aisle and set an order for those who are here and wish to speak. I ask unanimous consent that we be allowed to do that, and I would like to be on the list as soon as possible.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, there is a time to talk and there is a time to act. The Senate today has unanimously acted with force, with resolve, and with unanimity. We spoke for the people of our country about the heinous situation in which we find ourselves, and also about the resolve to keep this from happening again. We have passed a resolution giving the President of the United States our support and authorization for the use of military force against any person or any country that is helping the people who did the despicable acts of September 11. I heard a young woman on television this morning whose brother was lost in one of the World Trade Center Towers. The young woman was asked what she thought the response of the United States should be. She said, ``I don't really want to go to war. I just don't want anyone else to have to suffer what I am suffering today.'' I just want to say to that young woman, and to all of the other families of the victims of September 11, 2001, that it is exactly what we did today that will prevent other people in the future from suffering what she is suffering. If we do not respond with force, we will put American lives in jeopardy, and we will not be doing our job of protecting the people of our country whom we were elected to protect. No one would ever have the United States move before we had absolute evidence about who perpetrated this atrocity, but when we have that evidence, we are going to move. The Senate is speaking today in support of the President to take military action against those who have attacked our country, our people, our way of life, our very freedom. The most important responsibility I believe I have as a Senator is to keep the freedom that so many have died for in past years for our country. We are the beacon of freedom in the world. We are a democracy that has proven that, through our voting capabilities, we can become the strongest nation on Earth. It is freedom that is the foundation of the democracy and our way of life. To make sure we keep the freedom we have known--our mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and grandfathers have known--for our children and grandchildren, we must act decisively when an act of war has been perpetrated on innocent people of our country. As to the act that occurred on September 11--a day we will never forget in our lifetime, nor will our children or grandchildren ever forget--the only way we can respond to that kind of attack on our people and our freedom is to say we will fight, not just today or next month or 2 months from now, but we are in this for the long haul, and we are going to rid the world of the despots who believe they can prey on innocent citizens against freedom-loving people in the world. I am proud of the Senate. I am proud that we did not dillydally around to say, ``I wonder what we ought to do,'' but we are putting our faith in the President of the United States, our military forces, and our leaders who have the decisionmaking capabilities and the control of the military to act on our behalf and on behalf of the people of our country to assure that this will not happen again, and the force that we use will have the appropriate impact to protect ourselves and our freedom-loving allies wherever they may be in the world. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I inquire of the distinguished majority leader if the Senate will be able to stay in session for people who will not be able to stay later to make a statement regarding the bill and joint resolution being passed today.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, the bill I am introducing today, and for which I will soon have cosponsors because I want everyone to have the opportunity to join me in this effort, will address one part of our aviation security issue. It is not the only one that I will look for us to address in the long term. I do want the flying public to know that we have a safe and secure aviation system. However, last Tuesday, the terrorists who perpetrated this heinous crime found a vulnerability in that system. There are several things we will be able to do to correct this situation. I was Vice Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. I have been dealing with aviation security for a long time. Today I am the ranking member of the Aviation Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee. This is my area of interest. The bill I am introducing today would order the FAA to implement and augment within 30 days a sky marshal program that would allow for peace officers to be put in random airplane flights for domestic commercial air passenger flights and for international flights that would be coming into or out of America on U.S.-based airlines. What I am trying to do is provide an extra measure of security which today is the responsibility of pilots. Many people may not realize it, but it is the pilot and the copilot who are responsible for dealing with unruly passengers, or with any kind of security threat to the people on an airplane. We can no longer afford to allow pilots to have the dual responsibility of keeping the plane safe in the air and at the same time be responsible for handling disruptions in the cabin. The FAA, which has a very limited program, can train people on how to handle a breach of the peace in an airplane. It is a unique kind of training. It is not like military training certainly. It is not like a U.S. marshal on the ground. It is a different set of circumstances. An air marshal must be able to disarm a threat to the aircraft while operating in the confined space of the cabin. No longer can any passenger carry on even the smallest knife. The FAA has issued a ruling that not even a penknife will be allowed on an airplane by a passenger or in any kind of carry-on baggage. Our passengers will be disarmed. We want to make sure they are protected in some way. I am introducing this legislation, which will be a temporary program for 1 year. Then the FAA will report to Congress to determine if they believe it has been successful, if it should be continued, or if it is no longer necessary. I am allowing the FAA Administrator to assess up to $1 per passenger ticket for every segment of the flight. I talked to the FAA Administrator this morning. I told her that I wanted her to have the discretion to implement this program to deal with the security threats facing our passenger aviation system. I do not expect her to charge the full $1 if she does not feel that it is necessary. I do not expect her to do it for every leg of the flight if she does not think it is necessary. I do think we need to act quickly and there needs to be a resource. I can't imagine any airline passenger who would object to the payment of $1 for this kind of onboard security. This would be required to be put in place within the next 30 days. We need swift action to assure the flying public that we will do everything possible to make them secure in the air. The Administrator, Jane Garvey, told me this morning that she has already talked to the airlines about the possibility of sky marshals. My bill requires the airlines to provide a seat for the sky marshal regardless of availability. She said the airlines have already said that this is fine with them. I am very hopeful that we will be able to enact this common-sense measure on an expedited basis. I want the people of our country to know that we are not going to leave any stone unturned to protect the public. Having said that, I also want to say that this is not the end. This is a beginning. It is only one part of what I believe Congress and the President need to accomplish, working together to assure the safety of the people of our country. Clearly, this hijacking operation that was so well orchestrated is one facet of domestic terrorism. It highlighted a weakness in our aviation security, and we are going to clamp down in every way to assure the security of our flying public and the security of anyone in America who would be attacked by a weapon of mass destruction which, in this case, was an airplane. They found a vulnerability and they exploited it. We must assure that we have addressed every such vulnerability for our citizens, not only for the aviation security of our country, but we need to look at the public works in our country, the water systems, the tunnel systems we have for highways and trains and for mass transit, for our subway systems. We need to be ever vigilant over the public works of our country. Secondly, we need to establish a missile defense system for our country. We must not let any terrorist in the world believe that now we have addressed the issues of domestic terrorism within our own public works systems or our infrastructure but we would be vulnerable to an incoming ballistic missile. This should be part of our domestic terrorism effort. I appreciate the opportunity to take this first step. I hope it is one of many. I know my colleagues will work with me, with the President, all of us working together, Democrats and Republicans, to take the extra steps that our people expect us to take to make sure everyone in the world knows that we are committed to freedom and nobody is going to dash the spirit of America. Madam President, these tragedies have stunned the nation. Moreover, they revealed that our passenger air system was vulnerable to this cowardly attack. Preliminary reports indicate that the hijackers were armed with nothing more than knives. Horrifically, these simple weapons were apparently used to murder members of the flight crew as they bravely attempted to alert the FAA, and even change the course of at least one of the doomed flights, taking it away from population centers and our priceless national symbols. From these early reports, it is clear that the men and women who struggled to provide this information performed heroic feats while certainly knowing that they would not survive. We stand in awe of their deeds, but we lament that it was necessary. I also want to commend the Federal Aviation Administration for somehow managing to quickly ground thousands of airborne flights to remove any further threats to our Nation. Now, our attention must turn to finding those responsible for this act of war and making sure that we do everything in our power to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again. Airline passengers should not be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to avert an even greater tragedy. Since the hijacking of TWA flight 847 in June 1985, the FAA has been authorized to train and deploy sky marshals. There is already in place a training facility in Atlantic City, New Jersey. However, the FAA has never revealed the number or identity of the marshals, the details of their training, nor the routes that they fly. We appreciate the need for secrecy in this program, but clearly, the sky marshal deployment needs to be substantially expanded. Toward that end, I am introducing the Emergency Aviation Security Act of 2001. The bill will require an increased random deployment of sky marshals on both domestic and international flights. These peace officers will be hired and trained under guidelines set by the FAA, but, at a minimum, they will undergo thorough background checks and be trained to deal with situations such as the ones onboard the four hijacked aircraft. The program may, at the FAA's discretion, be paid for with a ticket fee of not more than one dollar on every domestic segment. The program will be instituted on a temporary basis for one year, after which the FAA will report to Congress on the success of the program and make recommendations as to whether it should continue and if it should be changed. Last year, more than 600 million people flew through U.S. airports. If we only charge the fee on domestic flights, one dollar would generate between $400-$500 million in one year. That is enough to hire, train, supervise and deploy thousands of sky marshals. The American public needs to have the kind of security that an onboard peace officer would provide. Under current procedures, the pilot and copilot are charged with the responsibility of dealing with unruly passengers, as well as more serious threats. I believe that the pilots should fly the plane. Period. A sky marshal would relieve the pilot and copilot of this additional responsibility. The FAA should have the flexibility to determine training requirements and qualifications. However, these guidelines must be prepared within 30 days of enactment of the legislation. This tight time frame is necessary to protect the public. This is an emergency bill and I urge my colleagues, as well as the FAA, to get behind this urgent effort.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, the bill I am introducing today, and for which I will soon have cosponsors because I want everyone to have the opportunity to join me in this effort, will address one part of our aviation security issue. It is not the only one that I will look for us to address in the long term. I do want the flying public to know that we have a safe and secure aviation system. However, last Tuesday, the terrorists who perpetrated this heinous crime found a vulnerability in that system. There are several things we will be able to do to correct this situation. I was Vice Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. I have been dealing with aviation security for a long time. Today I am the ranking member of the Aviation Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee. This is my area of interest. The bill I am introducing today would order the FAA to implement and augment within 30 days a sky marshal program that would allow for peace officers to be put in random airplane flights for domestic commercial air passenger flights and for international flights that would be coming into or out of America on U.S.-based airlines. What I am trying to do is provide an extra measure of security which today is the responsibility of pilots. Many people may not realize it, but it is the pilot and the copilot who are responsible for dealing with unruly passengers, or with any kind of security threat to the people on an airplane. We can no longer afford to allow pilots to have the dual responsibility of keeping the plane safe in the air and at the same time be responsible for handling disruptions in the cabin. The FAA, which has a very limited program, can train people on how to handle a breach of the peace in an airplane. It is a unique kind of training. It is not like military training certainly. It is not like a U.S. marshal on the ground. It is a different set of circumstances. An air marshal must be able to disarm a threat to the aircraft while operating in the confined space of the cabin. No longer can any passenger carry on even the smallest knife. The FAA has issued a ruling that not even a penknife will be allowed on an airplane by a passenger or in any kind of carry-on baggage. Our passengers will be disarmed. We want to make sure they are protected in some way. I am introducing this legislation, which will be a temporary program for 1 year. Then the FAA will report to Congress to determine if they believe it has been successful, if it should be continued, or if it is no longer necessary. I am allowing the FAA Administrator to assess up to $1 per passenger ticket for every segment of the flight. I talked to the FAA Administrator this morning. I told her that I wanted her to have the discretion to implement this program to deal with the security threats facing our passenger aviation system. I do not expect her to charge the full $1 if she does not feel that it is necessary. I do not expect her to do it for every leg of the flight if she does not think it is necessary. I do think we need to act quickly and there needs to be a resource. I can't imagine any airline passenger who would object to the payment of $1 for this kind of onboard security. This would be required to be put in place within the next 30 days. We need swift action to assure the flying public that we will do everything possible to make them secure in the air. The Administrator, Jane Garvey, told me this morning that she has already talked to the airlines about the possibility of sky marshals. My bill requires the airlines to provide a seat for the sky marshal regardless of availability. She said the airlines have already said that this is fine with them. I am very hopeful that we will be able to enact this common-sense measure on an expedited basis. I want the people of our country to know that we are not going to leave any stone unturned to protect the public. Having said that, I also want to say that this is not the end. This is a beginning. It is only one part of what I believe Congress and the President need to accomplish, working together to assure the safety of the people of our country. Clearly, this hijacking operation that was so well orchestrated is one facet of domestic terrorism. It highlighted a weakness in our aviation security, and we are going to clamp down in every way to assure the security of our flying public and the security of anyone in America who would be attacked by a weapon of mass destruction which, in this case, was an airplane. They found a vulnerability and they exploited it. We must assure that we have addressed every such vulnerability for our citizens, not only for the aviation security of our country, but we need to look at the public works in our country, the water systems, the tunnel systems we have for highways and trains and for mass transit, for our subway systems. We need to be ever vigilant over the public works of our country. Secondly, we need to establish a missile defense system for our country. We must not let any terrorist in the world believe that now we have addressed the issues of domestic terrorism within our own public works systems or our infrastructure but we would be vulnerable to an incoming ballistic missile. This should be part of our domestic terrorism effort. I appreciate the opportunity to take this first step. I hope it is one of many. I know my colleagues will work with me, with the President, all of us working together, Democrats and Republicans, to take the extra steps that our people expect us to take to make sure everyone in the world knows that we are committed to freedom and nobody is going to dash the spirit of America. Madam President, these tragedies have stunned the nation. Moreover, they revealed that our passenger air system was vulnerable to this cowardly attack. Preliminary reports indicate that the hijackers were armed with nothing more than knives. Horrifically, these simple weapons were apparently used to murder members of the flight crew as they bravely attempted to alert the FAA, and even change the course of at least one of the doomed flights, taking it away from population centers and our priceless national symbols. From these early reports, it is clear that the men and women who struggled to provide this information performed heroic feats while certainly knowing that they would not survive. We stand in awe of their deeds, but we lament that it was necessary. I also want to commend the Federal Aviation Administration for somehow managing to quickly ground thousands of airborne flights to remove any further threats to our Nation. Now, our attention must turn to finding those responsible for this act of war and making sure that we do everything in our power to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again. Airline passengers should not be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to avert an even greater tragedy. Since the hijacking of TWA flight 847 in June 1985, the FAA has been authorized to train and deploy sky marshals. There is already in place a training facility in Atlantic City, New Jersey. However, the FAA has never revealed the number or identity of the marshals, the details of their training, nor the routes that they fly. We appreciate the need for secrecy in this program, but clearly, the sky marshal deployment needs to be substantially expanded. Toward that end, I am introducing the Emergency Aviation Security Act of 2001. The bill will require an increased random deployment of sky marshals on both domestic and international flights. These peace officers will be hired and trained under guidelines set by the FAA, but, at a minimum, they will undergo thorough background checks and be trained to deal with situations such as the ones onboard the four hijacked aircraft. The program may, at the FAA's discretion, be paid for with a ticket fee of not more than one dollar on every domestic segment. The program will be instituted on a temporary basis for one year, after which the FAA will report to Congress on the success of the program and make recommendations as to whether it should continue and if it should be changed. Last year, more than 600 million people flew through U.S. airports. If we only charge the fee on domestic flights, one dollar would generate between $400-$500 million in one year. That is enough to hire, train, supervise and deploy thousands of sky marshals. The American public needs to have the kind of security that an onboard peace officer would provide. Under current procedures, the pilot and copilot are charged with the responsibility of dealing with unruly passengers, as well as more serious threats. I believe that the pilots should fly the plane. Period. A sky marshal would relieve the pilot and copilot of this additional responsibility. The FAA should have the flexibility to determine training requirements and qualifications. However, these guidelines must be prepared within 30 days of enactment of the legislation. This tight time frame is necessary to protect the public. This is an emergency bill and I urge my colleagues, as well as the FAA, to get behind this urgent effort.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I cannot think of a more appropriate way to end a speech than the ending that was just given by the Senator from Connecticut--talking about my daughter, talking about his future daughter or son, talking about our former colleague Bob Kerrey's new son. Every time we reflect upon World War I or World War II or the Korean War or Vietnam or Desert Storm, I am reminded that it is our responsibility to keep the zeal for freedom alive, which was paid for by the blood of so many. I certainly will be committed, along with Senator Dodd and everyone in the Senate, to making sure that my daughter, Bailey, has the opportunity to live in the same wonderful country that I have been able to grow up in and love. In the coming days and weeks, we are going to be talking about specifics on how we deal with this tragedy. In fact, there are some things coming out now to show that we are acting decisively. I was very proud of the President in giving the order immediately to shut down air traffic in New York, and then throughout America, within minutes of the second terrorist act on the World Trade Center it was then clear that it was terrorism. We shut down every airport and grounded every plane in America. I believe that was exactly the right thing to do and it was only the first response. Today, the FAA issued an order banning all knives from air crafts brought on by passengers or in carry-on luggage. It used to be you could take a knife on an airplane that was shorter than 4 inches, like the kind many people carry on keyrings. That will no longer be allowed. I am glad the FAA took that immediate action because we know from early reports that those were the weapons used by these terrorists. The FAA has also ended curbside baggage checks. Everything they are doing is right for our country right now. Later this week I am going to introduce legislation to reinstitute the random sky marshal program. Reinstitution of this program will have U.S. law enforcement personnel randomly assigned to flights to help ensure our safety. These are some of the many things we will address. I was talking to Senator Warner and Senator Allen this morning about legislation that would allow the vesting for retirement purposes of military personnel who have died in the line of duty such as the many victims at the Pentagon yesterday. I think their surviving spouse should receive survivors retirement benefits commensurate with the number of years they have served, which is not presently the law. Senator Warner is going to push that bill through the Armed Services Committee because of his great leadership position and because his constituents are so affected. Many people are in dire straits right now, not knowing what their future is because of the number of people we lost yesterday serving our country in the Pentagon. We are going to see some measures coming forward in the next few days and weeks and months to try to address the many issues that are now occurring because of yesterday's tragedy. Today, however, is more of a solemn moment. It is a moment of horror, a moment of grief, a moment of tragedy, and a moment for reflection. It is a moment which really can't be described, but we all understand because we feel. It was once said that ``democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.'' We saw that yesterday--for evil and for good. Yesterday's attack stunned our Nation, shocked a people, and destroyed lives and buildings. The blasts and collapse were felt across our Nation, both physically and emotionally. But they did not destroy our spirit, they did not destroy our faith, and they will never destroy our belief in freedom. Yesterday was filled with images of horror and unspeakable evil, but also of the American spirit, as individuals and a nation rose to the occasion, met the crisis head on, came together to rescue fellow citizens, and also to show a united front to those who are trying to intimidate us. Ronald Reagan once said, ``No crisis is beyond the capacity of our people to solve; no challenge too great.'' We are proving that to be true. Already we are being touched and inspired by the actions of ordinary people rising to the extraordinary circumstances and proving that they are heroes. To those who did this and to those who support them: No, we will never give up. We will never back down. And we will never let anyone destroy our spirit. Freedom is too great--protecting freedom transcends all other of our duties. That is why we, the Congress, present to you to the Nation and to the world a united front. A front united by grief, horror, and a firm resolve to do our job to provide for the common defense. It is our constitutional obligation, but it is also our personal determination. As we, the Members of Congress, stood on the Capitol steps last night, my colleagues and I were of one mind and one heart. We will remain so. Just one person started singing ``God Bless America,'' and every Member of Congress just joined in spontaneously. We are one with those who are struggling desperately to survive, with those fighting courageously to rescue others, with those waiting hopefully for news of loved ones--and with those committed to punish those responsible. This is not just an official resolve; it is also personal, and every one of us is going to have a personal story. Yesterday I spent hours on the telephone calling hospitals. Each one of my staff members had a different hospital to call every 30 minutes, looking for the husband of one of my staffers whose office was located in the Pentagon at the exact impact point of the crash. He finally was able to get through to her, and he was OK. He was one of the lucky ones. But there were those who were not so lucky, such as my friend, whom I loved dearly, Barbara Olson; that courageous young woman who had so much spunk, who called her husband Ted from the airplane that hit the Pentagon with a cell phone, and gave us our first indication of what was happening and how this was unfolding. Hope is the strength of an individual; it is the strength of a nation. Though nothing in our history compares to this horrifying event, nothing in our character will let us lose hope or let us be consumed by fear. We are the very beacon of freedom for the entire world--and we will not let cowards extinguish that light. Through the darkness, through the debris, through the clouds of dust, that light still shines, and from it, freedom and hope will continue to reign across the world. I thank the Chair and yield back my time.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, the Congress of the United States recognizes with extreme pleasure the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps on its thirty-ninth anniversary of their Congressional Charter of September 10, 1962. A non-profit training and education organization for young men and women, the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps has consistently provided, in conjunction with the Navy and Coast Guard, an outstanding opportunity for our country's youth to sample military life and experience the challenges and rewards of the maritime services. Over 8600 Cadets ages 11 to 17, led by 2,000 adult volunteers, across the United States and overseas participate with active forces in a wide variety of maritime training activities. The Sea Cadet program is applauded in developing not only interest and skill in seamanship and aviation, but also instilling in America's young people a sense of patriotism, personal courage, self-reliance and those qualities which mold strong moral character and self-discipline, all in an anti-drug, anti-gang environment. Many of our former and current military leaders established their roots and love the Naval services as a Sea Cadet. On behalf of my colleagues in the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, I offer our heartfelt appreciation and respect to all the members of ``our'' U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps. To Volunteers and Cadets: ``Bravo Zulu''--Well Done!