John Mica

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time. I would like to close by saying it is the goal of this resolution to raise public awareness about meningitis, and also the availability of the effective vaccines against this potentially debilitating or often fatal disease. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Meningitis Awareness Key to Prevention Organization for its efforts to educate all Americans to recognize the symptoms of this disease and also to urge that individuals seek prompt medical attention. I also want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Doolittle) for his leadership on this issue and for bringing this resolution, because it is important to bring this debilitating disease and information about it before the American public. So I thank him again for his work on this resolution. Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support this resolution seeking the goals of Meningitis Awareness Month.

Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today, on behalf of the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young), chairman of the full Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to bring to the floor for reauthorization the National Transportation Safety Board legislation. It is vital, as we have heard from the previous speakers, to continue the good work, the professionalism, and the investigative authority to this agency. It is also a pleasure for me to help reauthorize a rather lean, well- run Federal agency that does, again, an excellent job with a limited number of staff. With those remarks, Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased to compliment Marion Blakey, who has assumed the chairmanship last year of this important investigative arm of our government, and also compliment her on the outstanding job she has done in communicating with me since her taking office. This has continued from the horrible events of November 12, when the American airliner crashed in Long Island, through the very serious and fatal accident we had in my district in Florida involving the Amtrak auto train. So I thank the Chair of this agency for her cooperation, and I thank those involved with the agency for their work. Finally, again, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), and the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) for their bipartisan effort to move H.R. 4466 for reauthorization of the NTSB to the floor.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise this afternoon in support of H.R. 4466. This legislation is the National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act of 2002. It is necessary from time to time to reauthorize agencies, and it is our responsibility as the Subcommittee on Aviation of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to reauthorize this agency, which this bill does, through the year 2005. The National Transportation Safety Board is a relatively small agency; however, it has a large and significant mission. Its responsibility is to determine the probable cause of traffic and transportation accidents and also to promote transportation safety. To fulfill this important mission, the NTSB investigates accidents, and, based on those investigations, makes safety recommendations to Federal, State and local government agencies. The NTSB also advises the transportation industry regarding actions that should be taken to prevent accidents. The NTSB, I must say, has an absolutely outstanding reputation for its work, its professionalism, its independence, and the manner in which it conducts its transportation accident investigations. The NTSB, however, has no authority to require implementation of its recommendations. While it has an excellent track record in working with agencies to ensure that its recommendations are implemented, some of the important safety recommendations remain open for years, and this is one of the changes that our committee wanted to make as we reauthorized this important agency. One of the problems, again, is we have not had these recommendations closed. They have been open for years. For example, the NTSB's recommendation to improve airport runway safety, their recommendations have been on the NTSB's most wanted list of safety improvements each year since the inception of the list in 1990. Also on the most wanted list is the Board's recommendation to reduce fuel tank flammability. This important recommendation was issued in December of 1996 after the terrible tragedy of TWA Flight 800. Over five years later, this recommendation is still in the category of ``open.'' While we cannot expect instant results on such complex and complicated issues and investigations, neither can we afford to wait five to 10 years or more to address important aviation safety problems. To address this problem, this reauthorization legislation, H.R. 4466, requires that the Secretary of Transportation submit an annual report to the Congress, and that report must include the regulatory status of each recommendation made by the NTSB to the Secretary of Transportation that is included in the NTSB's most wanted list of safety improvements. We would expect the Secretary's report to state not only whether the Secretary agrees with the recommendation, but, more importantly, what actions are necessary to implement the recommendations, including target dates for these specific actions. The most wanted list is important because it is established by the NTSB each year and it is reviewed and considered in an open session. The list represents the Board's best judgment regarding which of its recommendations should in fact be expedited. This new provision will bring, we feel, needed attention to those recommendations that will have the very greatest impact on transportation safety. It will also encourage the timely implementation of those recommendations. I strongly support this provision, as well as other statutory changes that we have included in this reauthorization of the NTSB. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Marion Blakey and the entire NTSB for their tireless effort to improve our transportation safety. I want to thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar); the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Aviation; and our full committee chairman, the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), for their work and cooperation in bringing this important reauthorization forward in a bipartisan and timely manner. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4466) to amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize appropriations for the National Transportation Safety Board for fiscal years 2003, 2004 and 2005, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith).

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous matter on the bill, H.R. 4466, as amended.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, unfortunately I have to rise in opposition to the amendment offered by the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman). I do so today not because I necessarily oppose his proposal for developing a coordinated training program for information technology employees. In fact, I want to applaud the gentleman from California for his interest in improving the training opportunities available to Federal IT workers. However, as a member and former chairman of the Civil Service Subcommittee which has jurisdiction over Federal employee training programs, I believe this proposal, I believe it is very important, in fact, that this proposal go through the regular committee process. And that is important before we establish a new multimillion-dollar training program. And it is also important, I believe, that we consult with the administration and other interested parties to develop a clear picture of exactly what training is now being conducted. I think it is also vital and important that we work with the administration to solicit their views on how best to structure an IT training program in light of various agency needs. Frankly, Mr. Chairman, I also question whether the program the amendment establishes would be able to quickly keep up enough with the current fast pace of developments in the information technology sector. I know the chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization of the Committee on Government Reform and other members of the subcommittee would be glad to work with the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) in trying to craft the best possible proposal. I look forward to working with all parties interested in addressing this important issue. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis).

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the official opening in Miami, Florida of the Consulate of the Slovak Republic and the 50th Anniversary of Slovak Garden in my District. As you may know, Slovakia is a country full of rich history and tradition. It became a free and independent republic in 1993 and opened their new Embassy in Washington, DC in June of 2001. I am pleased to announce that, Mr. Robert J. Petrik, who is the Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic to the State of Florida, was appointed by Eduard Kukan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, with the approval by the United States Department of State, established a Consulate of Slovakia in Miami, FL. Currently there are Consulates of the Slovak Republic in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Denver, LA and Kansas City. The Honorable Ambassador Martin Butora, PhD, Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of the Slovak Republic to the United States, and his wife Zora Butorova, PhD, will be visiting Florida this week for the purpose of officially opening the Consulate of the Slovak Republic. There are a number of outstanding events planned to mark this exciting opening and the visit by Ambassador Butora and we are pleased to welcome them to the great State of Florida. Florida continues to experience tremendous growth and advances toward the future, while still recognizing and celebrating its proud history and vibrant culture. The added presence of the Slovak Republic will only serve to enhance Florida's history and culture. Slovak Garden had it beginnings in 1906, at the 10th National Slovak Society Convention in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, when American Slovaks discussed creating a Slovak retirement community. The seed was sown on November 10, 1939 as the Zivena Beneficial Society Branch 163 celebrated its 25th anniversary. During the program of this celebration, Mr. and Mrs. John Jerga made a substantial financial contribution toward building a retirement community for American Slovaks. Mr. John Jerga, ailing for years, had visited Florida frequently and often remarked how ideal it would be to have this retirement community for Americans of Slovak Heritage in central Florida. Jergo Road now serves as the dividing line between Slovak Garden and Slovak Village in Winter Park, Florida. It was dedicated in his memory to honor him and his wife Maria for their generous and unselfish donation of $10,000 to the Slovak retirement community in Florida and for other charitable projects they have founded and supported. After the death of John Jerga on February 23, 1941, Mrs. Jerga continued to be active in various Slovak affairs in Detroit. In 1946, she married a widower, the Slovak fraternalist and newspaper editor, Karol Belohlavek who was very well known in Slovak circles in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Cleveland, Ohio. The idea of creating a Slovak retirement community took on a new image and began moving again, since Karol Belohlavek was a great promoter for the idea. He published numerous articles in Slovak newspapers and solicited financial help from Slovak fraternal organizations and individuals to finance and promote the Slovak retirement community. Finally, they succeeded in finding a 40-acre farm with an old fashioned two-bedroom house and then acres of citrus grove, the balance of the land being mostly wooded. The farm was located on Howell Branch Road near Winter Park, Florida and just 15 miles east of the city of Orlando. Slovak Garden, as many other Slovak organizations in America, experienced growing pains of failure and successes during the years. The years from 1952 to 1970 were truly pioneering years for the Slovak Garden, but thanks to many devoted individuals, such as Karol Belohlavek, Mr. and Mrs. Zary, Mr. and Mrs. Kacir, Gus and Agnes Hodak, Mr. and Mrs. John Cibula, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Steffel and many others who succeeded to make this concept a reality. The years between 1980 and 1984, Slovak Garden went through tremendously difficult times fighting daily for it survival. In 1984 a new generation became involved, with Andrew F. Hudak, Jr., George Kantor, Mary Ondovcik, Joseph Hoda, Maria Kupcik, Andrew Croftcheck, Martha Volosin, Vincent Kazimir and John Gabor. They and many others helped Slovak Garden resume it progress. In recent years, Slovak Garden with various improvements and additions, continues to serve the American Slovak community and remind us all of a rich heritage. During the 50 years of Slovak Garden's existence, it has provided comfortable residences to scores of American and Canadian Slovaks, many of whom are now reposing in the national Slovak Cemetery in Slovak Village. Presently, many American Slovaks from various parts of the United States and Canada enjoy gracious living in Slovak Garden. Once a small farm in central Florida, today it is a complete Slovak cultural and retirement community. We congratulate the Slovak American Community in Florida on these two very special occasions.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, it is indeed fitting that we honor and recognize the heroic efforts of the passengers and crew of Flight 93. This memorial resolution and the proposed plaque are indeed fitting, again, for those heroic actions. I must say, Mr. Speaker, that since September 11 many of us have been concerned about the welfare of some of those families left behind from Flight 93. My wife Pat and other congressional spouses and some in Congress have also been involved in trying to meet some of the financial needs of the families. Some of them were children left behind. The resolution and plaque are a great tribute from Congress, but these families, particularly in the time of holidays and their own personal needs, are in dire straits. Again, they have not gotten the attention of the victims of the World Trade Center or the Pentagon, but, nonetheless, they were great heroes, and they are now in need. I urge my colleagues and others to contact a Web site, www.capitolheroes.org. That is www.capitolheroes.org, to aid those families. So today we fittingly recognize those families with this resolution and those heroes with this plaque, but we also try to remember those left behind as survivors, and not only this resolution but our thoughts and prayers go out to the survivors and family left behind.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining?

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Fletcher), who is also the author of this resolution.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this resolution was introduced by the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Fletcher). As of yesterday, it had 131 cosponsors, and I know many others are interested in cosponsoring this important resolution. The resolution was introduced on September 20, 2001, 9 days after the September 11 attack on America. In my view, all the victims who gave their lives on September 11 are American heroes. Of course, much attention has been rightfully focused on the heroes that took heroic actions in the World Trade Center and also in the Pentagon. But, Mr. Speaker, the passengers of United Flight 93 deserve special recognition. As the fourth plane hijacked on that day, the passengers, unfortunately, knew the fate that awaited them. Rather than accept that fate, however, the passengers of Flight 93 acted. We know they courageously fought back against the terrorists. While they did not succeed in saving the aircraft or their own lives, they were able to prevent hijackers from achieving their horrible objectives. In that process, Mr. Speaker, they lost their lives, and they lost their lives conducting heroic actions. While we may never confirm the targets of those terrorists, we know they were headed, in fact, to Washington and, more than likely, this very Capitol building. The heroic actions of the passengers and crew of Flight 93 saved many lives. Therefore, it is entirely fitting that we, my colleagues in the Congress today, honor the crew and passengers on Flight 93 with both this resolution and also with a memorial plaque on the grounds, as called for in this resolution. I want to take this opportunity to again congratulate our colleague, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Fletcher), for his initiative in introducing this significant resolution, and urge its adoption in the House. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 232) expressing the sense of the Congress in honoring the crew and passengers of United Airlines Flight 93.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the text of House Concurrent Resolution 232, as proposed to be adopted under suspension of the rules, be modified by the amendment that I have placed at the desk.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, first, I want to take a minute to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle. Not only did they work through the night last night but they have worked nonstop since September 11 to try to bring some stability to our Nation's aviation system and transportation system. I am very grateful for their leadership. I thank the chairman of the committee whose patience has been unending; his devotion to trying to get the best possible legislation, that being his only consideration. So I thank him, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) also for their valiant efforts in bringing forward this conference report. This may not be the perfect bill, but I am telling my colleagues that it is the most significant transportation and aviation security measure to pass the Congress in its history. It not only covers airlines, it covers ports, it covers our highway transportation, our infrastructure, our ports, our pipelines, again the whole gamut of transportation and aviation systems for our country. The first and most significant thing that we have done with this legislation is take away, and everyone's focused on aviation security since the tragic events of September 11, but we take away responsibility for aviation security from the airlines; and we make that a Federal responsibility. From the beginning, we all agreed with that. Most importantly and somehow lost in some of the debate is that we needed to have somebody in charge with the responsibility to carry out the transportation and aviation security requirements; and we have not been able to do that. We were not able in 1996, we were not able in the year 2000, and without the provisions of the House legislation that are incorporated here, we would not have that ability. And we vest that in a new transportation Deputy Under Secretary who has unprecedented ability to get in place the regulations relating to transportation and aviation security, to cut through the red tape, and again, in unprecedented fashion. The Senate bill was a disjointed bill that was well intended. It was passed in a hurry. This has clear lines of authority. For 6 years we have been unable to get rules for certification of baggage screeners. We have not been able to deploy the latest technology. This bill will put in our airports the latest technology that can detect weapons, that can detect explosives; and most importantly, this legislation has a sound means of transition in going from the current system to a new system and then opening this up with a comparison of both private sector operations with Federal supervision and Federal Government operations. Finally, although we do have the title of Federal employees, these are people that can be fired or dismissed and cannot hide under civil service protection and the intransigence that we now see in our Federal workforce.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3167. I am especially pleased that this legislation includes a provision to recommend Slovakia for full NATO membership. As the grandson of Slovak-American immigrants, I have carefully followed the Slovak Republic's difficult transition from the former Soviet bloc to a free and independent nation. The dramatic changes from a socialistic government and a managed economy to an open democracy and free market enterprise system have been a challenge for this new nation. Since January of 1993, the Slovaks have made great progress in joining the European and Western family of nations. Slovakia has been recognized for its economic and political progress by admission last September to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. The Slovak Republic is also a leading contender today for future membership in the European Union. While international economic integration is vital to Slovakia's future, it is critical that this strategically located Central European nation be a part of NATO. While in the past I have urged leaders of the new Slovak Republic to primarily focus on issues and admissions to organizations related to international economic cooperation, I did so coming from a nation and background that always felt secure from the standpoint of national security. At times in the past I could not understand the preoccupation with membership in NATO by Slovak leaders. As I learned more over the years of the history of the Slovak people and their domination and suppression, I realized why they were so concerned and so dedicated to a security relationship with NATO. Slovakia had lost its freedom and independence and security in the past. They did not want to risk that possibility in the future. The events of September 11 made me recognize why Slovakia and its people were so right. Nothing is more vital than national security. The other countries under this bill also, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria, also seek entry into NATO for exactly the same reason. In the interest of our United States national security, in the interest of those who have lost and regained their independence and also regained their national identity, and in the interest of world security, I urge the passage of this legislation. I again commend the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), and also honor the memory of our departed colleague, Jerry Solomon.

Mr. MICA

Mr. MICA. I appreciate the gentleman yielding time to me, Mr. Speaker. Just to respond about the O'Hare incidents, as we look into the O'Hare incident, we find first of all Federal officials failed to detect this individual who was here on an expired visa. We find that Federal officials failed and let go this individual after he committed these violations. Actually, he was arrested when he came back. We also find that Federal officials failed because Federal officials are the ones that decided on the level of technology, and the level of technology now deployed is flawed. We have even better technology that will detect all kinds of weapons. Mr. Speaker, as I said in the debate last week, we can have someone with a Ph.D. If we have X-ray technology of the 70s and 80s, we cannot detect. That is part of the problem.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to come to the floor tonight and support the motion to instruct conferees. I think my colleagues on the minority side, the Democrat side have a good motion to instruct conferees. I think we all want to see this question resolved. The Congress wants to see it resolved, and I know the House Members here want to see it resolved. Most importantly, the American people want to see aviation and transportation security in place in time for Thanksgiving. Let me respond to a couple of things that have been said. First, I want to thank the Democrat staff and the Republican staff on the House side for already meeting, and I think they have met for some time and have begun to work together; and that shows the bipartisan cooperation that is so necessary to draft, again, a comprehensive solution to our aviation and transportation security problems. I am very pleased that they have met. I am sorry that the Senate staff has canceled several meetings to date, and I hope that they will come forward, because we do not want to delay. I know we have some question right now about the number of conferees being appointed, and I think that that is important to resolve. The House is ready to go to work. I know the Democrat side is ready, and the Republican conferees stand ready, and I hope that Members in the other body will resolve their differences and get their conferees here as soon as possible. So I think this is a timely resolution, and I commend the minority for bringing it forward. There are some questions about security in the interim, and I am pleased to be here tonight to say that these questions need to be answered. The American people need to know that this President and this administration have acted with due speed. Soon this week there will be an announcement that almost every major aircraft in the country has already had the cockpit doors secured; that, in fact, the President acted, and the Congress actually set up a program, and the airlines will be reimbursed for this cost, but the airlines also acted with speed. So the flying public will know that, in fact, when they take to the air this holiday that, in fact, these changes have been made. We have been training Federal air marshals from the very beginning. This Congress appropriated funds. That program, I am also pleased to announce, is well under way at the direction of the President. The President has also issued some intervening directives, and those are in place. We have National Guard at most of our airport locations. We have secured, with both local law enforcement and National Guard and Federal officials, our airports. We have also put into place interim rules. But the gentleman is right, these are only interim solutions; and what we need is a long- term fix. But I must say that for the American people, and as far as security is concerned, for Thanksgiving and their travel for the holidays, we do not want to deliver a turkey as far as aviation and transportation security legislation. We want a sound and a comprehensive plan; and we want it sooner, rather than later. So I am pleased to join my colleagues in that regard. We introduced as a Congress in 1996 legislation to solve our aviation security problems, and it did not solve our problems. Again last year, this Congress acted with an aviation security bill, and that bill did not do the job. President Bush has given us one directive. He said that it may take a little bit longer, but he has put in place these interim measures that did work. In fact, they worked at O'Hare, if we look at the case of the problems in O'Hare. The redundancy did in fact work, and that is important to take note of, that these protections the President and the administration have put in place on a temporary basis have worked. We are not here to frighten the American people. We are telling them that we are here to do a responsible and comprehensive job. We are not here to sprinkle parsley around the turkey and say that this is a job well done, this is a beautiful piece of work. Everyone knows beyond the turkey that has been sprinkled with parsley that it did not do the job. As far as the issue of the number of baggage screeners, I did not rate the other body's bill, the Congressional Budget Office did. They came up with the number of 31,000. I would venture to say that if we take the legislation that we passed, with even stronger checked-baggage screening requirements, and if we had passed that with the Senate language, we would have a huge bureaucracy involved in this. Do the American people want a huge bureaucracy, or do they want aviation security? That is really the question at hand. We want a comprehensive plan. We take away the question and responsibility of aviation security from airlines. All of the legislation that is proposed, House, Senate, Republican, and Democrat, does that. But it is important that beyond that that we do not focus just on the issue of establishing a huge bureaucracy. I think we need to look at these issues carefully. We may need a few more days. However, I do support strongly the motion to direct the conferees that is before us today.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) for yielding the time, and I think if anyone looks at the proposal that was developed by the other side of the House and by the Republicans, it was almost identical, and most of it dealt with solving the problems that we see; and these problems will continue to reoccur, and we should not panic every day. I did say that the President put in place a redundant system and the redundant system worked. United Airlines employees in their screening process, final screening process, detected this; but it did point out that the equipment, and I have a complete chronology of what took place at O'Hare, but the equipment, after again this luggage was placed through a second time, did not detect the weapons even at that point. The FAA set the parameters for that equipment, and that is why it is so important that the House legislation puts in place that rules be adopted.

Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, we all want comprehensive aviation security legislation. Some of the things that have been said may play well on television or with the media. I hope they are not really meant to make the public feel that it is unsafe to fly. I have outlined what this administration has done. The President has put in place directives, and this week almost every major passenger aircraft in the country will have the cockpit doors secured. The President has ordered our air marshals to be trained; they are being trained. Other law enforcement personnel are being assigned to our aircraft. Secretary Mineta has announced a zero tolerance policy. That is why we have had the redundancy in place. Even if we adopted the Senate's plan to employ some 31,000 new Federal employees, it will take 3 to 5 years to train them and get them in place. We need an interim plan. We all agree that the current system does not work. No one is proposing we keep the current system. We are all proposing that the Federal Government take over that responsibility. So this is not the time to demagogue the issue. This is the time to pass comprehensive legislation. We heard some of the speakers just a minute ago talk about taking away rights of citizens or not honoring rights of citizens. That was in the Senate bill, not our bill. We heard people talking about the same private screeners continuing. That is not in our bill. Our bill has Federal supervision, Federal management, Federal background checks, and a comprehensive ability to put in place the rules to get the best technology to detect this equipment. We have waited years and years for the Federal Government to act. We have to have someone with both the responsibility and the authority to get in place emergency regulations dealing with equipment, dealing with screeners, dealing with all of these items, and do this in a businesslike fashion so that we have in place a long-term, comprehensive plan for aviation and transportation security. We all want the same thing. I support this resolution. I think we should all move forward. We urged the other body to move forward, and I urge my colleagues to urge the other Members to move forward. I think we can do this. We all want to get to the same place. It is important that we have the best possible product in the end. The American people want nothing less, and I think that they expect us to come here and deliver that package.