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CNN Saturday Morning News

Bush Urges Passage of House Airport Security Bill

Aired October 27, 2001 - 11:34   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.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is in Camp David for the weekend, but before leaving he signed the anti-terrorism bill into law. Kelly Wallace is near Camp David and joins us now with more on what might be next -- Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Marty, President Bush, when he signed that bill into law yesterday, he saluted the overwhelming bipartisan support -- Democrats and Republicans supporting that measure to help track down suspected terrorists.

Today his focus in his weekly radio address, trying to put pressure on Congress to finish up work on an airline security bill. Now, the Senate has passed a bill already. The House of Representative expected to take up a measure this week.

There's lots of agreement between the two bills: strengthening cockpit doors, having more armed Federal Marshals on planes. The big sticking point really is over whether passenger and baggage screeners should be federal employees.

The Senate bill would require that those workers are federal employees, while President Bush disagrees with that approach. He's putting his support behind a House bill pushed by Congressman Don Young. He says the Senate bill is not the right way to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: While that bill is well intended, the best approach will be one that provides flexibility. The Young bill allows the use of private contractors, operating under tough federal standards on background checks, with federal law enforcement at every gate to promote better screening services and ensure that security managers can move aggressively to discipline or fire employees who fail to live up to the rigorous new standards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And as he does most every Saturday now, President Bush up at the presidential retreat at Camp David, sharing a video teleconference with his National Security Council. We understand the meeting today lasted about a half hour. Joining the president up at Camp David, his National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and his Chief of Staff Andrew Card. The president continuing to focus on what he calls two fronts in this campaign against terrorism: the military campaign underway in Afghanistan, but also the focus on the increasing number of cases of anthrax in the United States.

Marty, we saw the president yesterday, during a speech earlier in the morning, talking about this issue, mourning the loss of those two D.C. postal workers killed, who died of inhalation anthrax, and saying that the U.S. government doing everything it possibly can to try to protect postal workers and postal facilities around the country.

Marty, back to you.

SAVIDGE: Thank you Kelly; CNN's Kelly Wallace near Camp David this morning.

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