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CNN Live At Daybreak

Homeland Security: House Debates Best Way to Protect You in the Skies

Aired November 01, 2001 - 08:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The House today debates the best way to protect you in the skies. It is expected to vote later on a controversy aviation security measure. The Senate voted unanimously last month to make airport security screeners federal workers. House Democrats also support that legislation, as do some moderate Republicans, but many Republicans in the House want baggage screening to stay in private hands, with government supervision. We'll get two views on all this, first with House minority whip David Bonior, and then with Congressman Christopher Cox, who chairs the House Policy Committee.

Mr. Bonior, we will begin with you. State your case, why should this become a federal bureaucracy, screening baggage?

REP. DAVID BONIOR (D-MI), MINORITY WHIP: Because we need a change in the system. The system that the Republicans and the House are advocating today is basically the system that we have had before, and it failed us on September 11. We need a system where people are well paid, well trained, and a system where we protect at the frontline the flying public.

O'BRIEN: OK, but what about the wrap that it is kind of cumbersome, to create a federal entity, 28,000 workers, we will say. That is the I've heard. It takes a long time to hire them. It's almost impossible to fire them. If you went to a system where you had federal supervision and you had private companies, it is a more nimble entity.

BONIOR: Well, nimbility did not get us where we wanted to be at this point. Nimbility got us to September 11. What we need is a tight system. We need a system that works, and I would say with respect to question of discharging people, there is language in the bill that passes, you pointed out, Miles, 100 to nothing by the Senate, Republicans and Democrats, which makes it a possible for quick accountability for those who are not doing their job. That is a good bill. It needs get to the president quickly, so we can secure our airlines, so people feel secure and safe, so they start to fly again. This is the first really piece in our economic stimulus package that we need. If we don't get people into the air, doing business around the country, then our economy will continue to suffer.

O'BRIEN: I admit, I'm mystified by bicameral system legislation, but in this case, when you have 100 to nothing vote. Those are rare, even for stuff that is completely noncontroversial, and it moves to the House and it turns into such a contentious issue, I wonder what happened. A funny thing happened to that bill on the way to the House.

BONIOR: Well, what happened on the way to the House, Miles, is that the people who operate the present system, the private contractors, got ahold of some of the leaders on the Republican side of the House, and they said, listen, save us here from this, and that's what's going on here, and some of the leaders on other side of the aisle are concerned that these votes will become union members.

I would like to remind people that these were union members flying these planes, the flight attendants, the baggage handlers -- their the people who were in that disaster on the 11th of September, where the firefighters and the police officers, who rescued people. We ought not to be afraid of union workers. Union workers are good workers in this country. They are well trained. They care about their job, and they care about the people who they are working for and working with.

O'BRIEN: It is a very chancy, dicey proposition to be partisan right now, to be viewed as opposing a security measure, to be viewed as opposing an extremely popular president. What are Democrats telling you?

BONIOR: Well, Democrats are saying basically, let's do what the Senate did. It was a 100 to 0 vote; it was a bipartisan vote. And we're going to get Republicans to support this position in the Senate as well. So we'll have virtually every Democrat on our side. We'll have number of Republicans as well. We need to give it to the president. He'll sign it. We'll get it done, and we'll start the process ensuring safety of the American flying public.

O'BRIEN: All right, we've been focusing on these baggage screeners, but before I let you get away, there are a lot of people saying the legislation amounts to little more than window dressing. It does not address key some issues, like the baggage which is checked, and goes into the belly of the aircraft and is not screened, only what, 5 percent of it on a domestic flight is actually screened. There are a lot of issues which are not addressed in this legislation. Do you think that is a mistake?

BONIOR: No, I think most of those issues you just raised and others are going to be addressed. We are going to have make sure that, first of all, all the baggage is screened, all the baggage that goes into the belly is screened. We are going to make sure that we have marshals on the flights. We are going to make sure that the cockpit doors are secure. This package will ensure considerably the safety of those who are flying.

O'BRIEN: All right, Representative David Bonior, the House minority whip, Democrat of Michigan, thanks for being with us this morning.

BONIOR: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Paula.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And I believe I am moving on to another interview. It's not certain, is it? Republican Christopher Cox of California, who joins us now from Washington. He chairs the House Policy Committee.

Good to see you, sir. Thanks for coming in this morning.

REP. CHRISTOPHER COX (R-CA), HOUSE POLICY CHAIRMAN: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: Where do you stand on this legislation? Are you going to go with the bill that Mr. Bonior backs, or the one that more conservative Republicans are embracing?

COX: Well, it isn't just conservative Republicans; it is Democrats, as well as Republicans, that will vote for this bill today at the request of the president. I support the president's position. What we are doing is providing a half-billion dollars for cockpit, and airport, and -- excuse me, cockpit and aircraft security, strong new screening procedures that my colleague, Mr. Bonior, just described, and authorization for 100 percent federal workers to screen the baggage at airports, but the difference between what the president is requesting and what the minority in the House wishes to give him, is that the president wants the option, airport by airport, to deploy these screeners in the best way for national security, the best way to protect passengers.

The president's focused not upon worker security, which normally is our highest priority in civil society in America, but rather focused on, passenger security. He wants to make sure that we have the absolute best system in place. This...

ZAHN: Let me ask you this.

COX: Sure.

ZAHN: Yes, because before you go any further, I want you had to react to what Representative Bonior had to say, suggesting that those of you who support the plan that the president backs are supporting a system that failed us on September 11. What's your response to that?

COX: But I think that I agree with David, that we need to overhaul that system, virtually in its entirety, because the system was so lax. What we are seeking now to emulate is, for example, the model adopted by Israel, and it is in part because of Israel's critique of the Senate bill that we are trying to give the president the authorities that he seeks. In the late 1990s, Israel switched from system in which it was all nationalized, to a system in which they had strong national government participation, but also an arm's length relationship with the people who work at airports so they could more toughly regulate them.

I'm not sure that is systems we want, but I want to make sure that the president has that option. What we authorized in this legislation is 100 percent federal workers, but we've also given the president the flexibility that he needs to get the job done right, and when this bill went through the Senate 100 to nothing, this piece of it had not become salient. After the vote, most senators discovered this was even in the bill. So it is crucial the president asked us to do this, that we are doing this in legislation in the House of Representatives. I met with president yesterday in the White House. We talked about a wide range of issues in our leadership meeting, but I know the president wants to get this bill to his desk right away.

This is actually, a capillary. We want to go for the jugular and get the bill on the president's desk, get it signed, because protecting American travelers is our highest priority.

O'BRIEN: I know that everyone from Senator Lott yesterday to Representative Gephardt predicted that it was going to be a very close vote when this vote finally happened, and we know the president has been spending a fair amount of time lobbying moderate Republicans perhaps to not go with the Democratic version and go with plan he backs. What do you give the chances of the plan you back?

COX: Well, I think you are right. It is a closely divided question, because in addition to some Republicans who favor taking this authority away from the president, we have some Democrats who favor giving it to him. But I can tell you the president is actually spending the greatest amount of his time on organizing and fighting the war on terrorism. He hasn't had a chance to make a lot of calls up to Capitol Hill, so this will be an intramural exercise for the most part. I think you will be pleased with result. I think everyone in the House of Representatives, some of the characterizations notwithstanding, is focused on the protection of the American traveling public and getting it done right away.

ZAHN: Yes, I need a real quick answer to this one. The president's chief of staff indicated over the weekend, even if the Democratic version ends up passing, he probably will not veto it. Is that your understanding?

COX: That is right, the president's made it very clear he wants to get the bill to his desk, and we understand that in Congress. We are trying to get bill to conference with the Senate so that we can then send it to the president for signature.

ZAHN: All right, Representative Cox, good to see you. Thank you again for joining us this morning.

We'll be watching that vote closely.

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