Increased Cargo Screening, Unionized Screeners Among Proposals

There are some new sheriffs in the town of Washington, DC... and they've got some radical ideas on improving airport security. House Democrats -- in control of Congress for the first time since 1994 -- are pushing new anti-terrorism legislation that, if enacted, would change several aspects of airport security.

Most notably, the proposed laws -- which build upon the general recommendations established by the 9/11 Commission -- would drastically tighten regulations governing the screening of cargo at airports. The New York Times reports the laws include initiatives intended to keep nuclear technology off the black market.

"Today marks a giant leap forward toward a safer and more secure America," said Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the new chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, as he unveiled the bill Friday.

The proposed legislation requires that within three years, all cargo on passenger jets be inspected for explosives... in a similar manner to how checked luggage is screened now.

Some Senate Democrats, however -- in an uneasy truce with the Bush administration, and the Department of Homeland Security -- say the House bill goes too far, and would be far too expensive and complicated to implement.

"Airplane passengers must be assured that any cargo on a passenger jet will not pose a terrorist threat," said independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, who now leads the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. "But we must achieve these goals in an efficient manner to allow for the free flow of commerce without placing undue economic burdens on importers or bringing air traffic to a standstill."

More thorough screening of air cargo alone is estimated to cost $3.6 billion over the next decade, said Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke. Currently, about 30 percent of all air cargo is inspected by dogs or X-ray machines.

The Democrats' bill -- which was expected to come to a vote as soon as Tuesday -- would also require all cargo passing through America's ports to be screened in a similar manner within five years -- a measure Knocke says could cause ports "to literally shut down."

Unionized Screeners

The House bill also includes a provision that would allow about 43,000 screeners with the Transportation Security Administration to unionize, something the Bush administration banned when Congress created the agency in 2001.

The Washington Post reports the measure is based on a bill sponsored by Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY) last year, which failed to move out of committee by a single vote.

The new provision -- put forth by Thompson -- would required Homeland Security to apply current standards governing other federal employees' rights to join unions to the TSA. Employees of the agency, including screeners, could then decide on their own whether to join a union. Certain whistleblower rights would also protect them.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) maintains collective bargaining rights help smooth operations, through providing a structure to address job performance and other issues.

AFGE organizer Peter Winch says the union asked Democrats to put screener bargaining rights "on the agenda for the first 100 hours ... It does not make sense to keep these employees from collective bargaining rights when other Department of Homeland Security employees have those rights."

A Homeland Security spokesman declined to comment Monday on the proposal.

FMI: www.congress.gov, www.tsa.gov, www.dhs.gov