James Oberstar

Mr. OBERSTAR

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske), cosponsor of the pending legislation.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 10 seconds. Mr. Chairman, that was a very compelling appeal by the distinguished majority leader, but I would just point out to my colleagues that the committee bill does not trust the President either, because it is filled with mandates, while at the same time they ask for flexibility. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge). (Mr. ETHERIDGE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Boswell). (Mr. BOSWELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson). (Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

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

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

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

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

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, we have come to the close of a very agonizing debate, a very fair, very open exchange. But you cannot have it both ways. The last speaker said, you do not have these protections. You do not have all these safeguards for Federal workers. But it was the majority that has said time and again you cannot have Federal workers because it is too hard to fire them. It is too hard to move them around. So we give you the flexibility to write the rules the way you want to do it; and then you come and say, oh, you do not have all the protections. You cannot have it both ways. We have heard some spurious numbers here. The CBO number estimate is 16,200 screeners. Then there are supervisors and managers and ground coordinators and senior-level security and perimeter security and aircraft security personnel. That is all up to the Department, the Department of Justice or up to the Department of Transportation. You decide. That is the flexibility. Then I heard them complain, oh, you do not trust the President of the United States to do the right thing. What do you mean? On the other hand they say, you do not have any mandates to make all of these things happen because we do not trust the rulemaking. Now let us cut that stuff out. What we have got before us is the essential issue, the Achilles heel of aviation security. I served on the Pan Am 103 commission in the aftermath of that tragedy at Lockerbie, Scotland. I stood there with our colleague, John Paul Hammerschmidt, on the edge of that abyss, 14 feet deep, 40 feet wide, 140 feet long where 270 people perished, were vaporized in the crash of that 747. There were 270 people aboard those four aircraft on September 11. History has a way of repeating itself in great tragedy. In a speech in the Canadian House of Commons, the Honorable Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada, said on the day after the attack, ``There are those rare occasions when time seems to stand still, when a singular event transfixes the world, occasions when the dark side of human nature escapes civilized restraint and shows its ugly face to a stunned world. Tuesday, September 11, will forever be etched in memory as a day when time stood still.'' He said it eloquently, powerfully. I have waited, I have worked for 11 years to get strong security legislation enacted. We did it in 1990, and then we worked to get the regulation implemented. And then we worked again. We passed new legislation and now we have something on this floor that closes the gap, that shuts down the Achilles heel, a good provision that says we will take strong action. We will put screeners at airport security checkpoints with the badge of Federal Government on their shirt, sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States and its laws, trained to the highest standards, paid a decent wage. People who will do the right thing. I want you to pass this bipartisan amendment, and I express my great admiration to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske), who has stood and withstood enormous pressure not to take a principled, honest stand of integrity in what he believes. Because, my friend, never again do I want to look into the eyes of the families of the victims of Pan Am 103; nor do I want any of you to look into the eyes of the families of the victims of September 11 and say, we did it on the cheap. We did not do enough. We did not go far enough. We will try again. This is the hour of decision. Make your decision tonight. Let this not be a day when time stood still, but a day when time marched ahead in the interest of security for all Americans.

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

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman has the right to close. Would the gentleman like to recognize one of his speakers?

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire of the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) how many speakers are on his side.

Mr. OBERSTAR. I thank the Chair for again insisting on the decorum of the debate in this body. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Berry).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, how much time remains on both sides?

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney). (Mrs. MALONEY of New York asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.) Mr. Chairman, we have the best military in the world, the best law enforcement agencies and the best firefighters. All of these are government-run organizations that successfully protect the public. And the public deserves the government's full protection and commitment at our nation's airports. Our airport security system is tragically and fatally flawed. We don't need to patch it up. We don't need to continue the status quo. Some have attacked federalization of airport security because it could potentially create a union. Those who make this argument forget that roughly 400 union members died at the World Trade Center These union members and their union-member colleagues who survived helped save up to 20,000 lives. Even the administration wants the other side to stop attacking public employees in this debate. Working men and women aren't the problem. And tweaking the existing system isn't the solution. Like the military--protection of air travel should be done by federal employees.

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds. I would like to express my great appreciation and admiration to the Chair for the even-handed manner in which the Chair has conducted the debates, keeping Members aware of the proper decorum and proper procedure. The Chair has endeavored to maintain order. The Chamber now is assuming a spirit very much akin to that which prevails in most of the airports across this country, a hushed atmosphere, a feeling of apprehension, feeling of uncertainty as passengers move through the airport to the gate. We now move with some sense of apprehension of where the future of aviation lies. Within the hour we will decide. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez). (Mr. MENENDEZ asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 10 seconds. My colleagues cannot have it both ways. First our bipartisan bill was criticized because it did not deal with citizenship. Now it is too restrictive on citizenship. In fact, nationals covers citizens of the United States, or citizens and nationals, and nationals of American Samoa and Swains Island under the law. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy). (Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel). (Mr. ENGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin). (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Honda).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the dean of the House, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell). (Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee). (Mr. INSLEE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)