The US administration and Congress agree there must be air marshals aboard airplanes and stronger cockpit doors to keep hijackers out, but are debating whether the federal government should take over airport security.
Administration officials said US President George W. Bush wants to give the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) more supervision of private security companies that screen passengers and carryon baggage. Proposed FAA rules to increase training of security screeners have been put on hold while the administration decides how to proceed.
A proposal from the pilots union to allow its members to carry weapons is unlikely to win approval from the administration, Republican officials said.
Several lawmakers want the federal government to take over security at airport checkpoints. Legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate to have passenger screening done by better-paid federal employees rather than the low-wage workers who now carry out this function.
"This problem is going to take more than just oversight," said Representative Jack Quinn, the Republican sponsor of the House bill. "Some of the oversight that has been done so far has been proven inadequate."
The president plans to announce his airline safety proposals today in Chicago, one official said. The leaders of the House and Senate were invited to attend. Some of the proposals may require legislation but others can be done administratively, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
In advance of recommendations being drafted by two task forces, Bush and Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta spent an hour at the White House Tuesday discussing ways to improve security, including adding air marshals and securing cockpit doors.
The Federal Aviation Administration is advertising for air marshals and the administration and Congress want to see them on most, if not all, flights. Federal law enforcement officials from other agencies are being quickly trained and pressed into service until the new crop of marshals is hired.
Cockpit doors are now designed so that pilots needing to escape can easily break them down. In the near term, officials want to better secure the doors. Eventually, they would require airplanes to be equipped with two separate sets of doors, separated by a walk-in chamber.
Where the administration and Congress appear to diverge is over who should handle airport screening.
While some proposals would combine the security screeners and air marshals into an FAA security division, other lawmakers have talked about setting up a separate government corporation to handle security, said Representative John Sweeney, a Republican member of the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee.
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