James Oberstar

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Baldacci).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones). (Mrs. Jones of Ohio asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, could the Chair enlighten us on the time remaining?

Mr. OBERSTAR. And under the procedure of the House, does our side have the right to close?

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The CHAIRMAN: The Clerk will designate the amendment in the nature of a substitute. The text of the amendment in the nature of a substitute is as follows: Amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in House Report No. 107-264 offered by Mr. Oberstar of Minnesota: Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following:

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the remaining time. In response to the last commentary about the provision referring to citizenship, there are two types of nationals: citizens of the United States who are both citizens and nationals, and nationals of American Samoa and Swains Island, who owe an allegiance to the United States. The term ``national'' does not encompass aliens. It is intended to be broad to encompass those I have just mentioned. Now, our substitute, which the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske) and I offered on a bipartisan basis, has been characterized as being disruptive, creates a disruptive transition. But the maximum disruptive transition is right here in the manager's substitute providing that any private security firm be owned and controlled by a citizen of the United States to the extent the President determines that their firm is owned and controlled by such citizens. That is going to create a huge disruption of having to terminate all the contracts that now exist, because they are controlled by a foreign company.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Tauscher).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 10 seconds to simply point out the reality of the pending committee language. Not later than 3 months the Under Secretary shall assume civil aviation security and functions with a schedule to be developed by the Secretary of Transportation. It does not say anything that the gentleman referred to. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt). (Mr. HOLT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes and 20 seconds to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Roukema). (Mrs. ROUKEMA asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, I would advise the gentleman that his understanding is correct.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, once again I want to express my great appreciation and admiration for the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske), who stood on a matter of principle and stood against some very powerful forces within his own party. On a matter of this significance, it is important to have a useful and far-ranging debate. We had that today. I offer as the motion to recommit a bill that we worked on in committee on a bipartisan basis, and on which we came to disagreement on a major point of divergence on the Federal screener workforce. No matter how many proposals I offered to the chairman of the full committee and the chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation, to which they were agreeable, when they brought it to the political leadership of their party, they were vetoed. We attempted to achieve a bipartisan agreement, but what we have in the motion to recommit is a proposal that I think is superior not only to the motion that was just defeated, but also to the underlying bill. It creates a transportation security administration, an intermodal security administration, transfers all modal functions within the Department of Transportation to the Transportation Security Administration. It designates an Under Secretary as a liaison to intelligence and law enforcement communities. In establishing a screener workforce, it gives to the Under Secretary of Transportation authority to create the rules of hiring, of firing, of moving people around, create a separate force apart from the civil service of the United States with those protections that the Under Secretary chooses to establish so that we answer, as I proposed from the very outset a month ago, the question of creating a whole new Federal civil service workforce. We put those mandates into this legislation to require various security functions and to insist that timetables be met and deadlines be adhered to. We take cost-benefit analysis out of security rulemaking so that the rules cannot be held up interminably as they have been for many years. Those in the Hispanic community who were concerned about the nationality requirement, that is absent from this provision. It requires 10-year criminal background checks on security screeners. The key thing here is that it establishes a screener workforce that is pledged to the Constitution of the United States, to the laws, trained to the highest levels, a skilled workforce established by the Under Secretary. Members want flexibility; we provide it in here. Why this was not accepted 3 weeks ago is beyond me. We have an opportunity now to vote for it. Mr. Speaker, I urge a vote in favor of this substitute that encompasses the purpose of security in a way that will transcend everything that is in the underlying bill.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith). (Mr. SMITH of New Jersey asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley). (Ms. BERKLEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters). (Ms. WATERS asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske), who has played a courageous role in advocating this legislation.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the Chair's admonition. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 15 seconds. In the interest of accuracy, the bill that we advocate here provides for screening of passengers and baggage, checked baggage, perimeter security, Federal air marshals, cockpit security, anti-hijack training for flight crew, flight school training background checks and funding. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), the distinguished minority leader. (Mr. GEPHARDT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I just want to point out that there were references made earlier in debate to the complex way in which security would be organized under the bipartisan bill. In fact, it is not complex at all. The bill provides very clear lines of responsibility. The bipartisan substitute outlines who is responsible for what. The Justice Department is responsible for four aviation security areas: Passenger and baggage screening, including training of personnel; guidelines for Federal air marshals; background checks of aliens; and notifying critical persons about who may pose a risk to aviation security.

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost) will continue to yield, I hope that will be early in the week because of the urgency of getting together and closing the rather significant gulf between the two versions of the aviation security bill.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I would inquire of the distinguished majority leader whether it is possible that the Speaker will name conferees on the just-passed aviation security bill. I see that the distinguished leader announced that the Speaker will be ready to name conferees on Foreign Operations Appropriations, but given the urgency and the significance that was referenced throughout the debate tonight, I would inquire of the distinguished majority leader if it is possible at an early time to name conferees.