Improving America's Security Act of 2007--Continued

IMPROVING AMERICA'S SECURITY ACT OF 2007--Continued -- (Senate - March 13, 2007)

BREAK IIN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. STEVENS. I concur with my chairman, Senator INOUYE. The Commerce Committee has worked for over a decade to improve transportation security and has had to deal with the inertia of the Federal Government as well as fight entrenched interests to change the way we secure our transportation system. As far back as 1996 we began discussing the security advantages of transferring security functions from the airline industry to the Federal Government. Similarly, we initiated action on the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 prior to 9/11 in order to address a broad range of criminal activity at our ports. The attacks of 9/11 created sufficient public pressure for Congress to fundamentally change the way the Federal Government secures our aviation system and ports.

In particular, Aviation and Transportation Security Act, ATSA, Public Law 107-71, established the Transportation Security Administration, TSA, within the Department of Transportation to be ``responsible for security in all modes of transportation, including: carrying out chapter 449, relating to civil aviation security, and related research and development activities; and security responsibilities over other modes of transportation that are exercised by the Department of Transportation.'

The creation of the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, HSGAC, did not alter TSA's authority or the Commerce Committee's subject matter jurisdiction. The Senate engaged in a healthy debate on the floor and made clear that the authority being transferred to the HSGAC under S. Res. 445 did not affect the Commerce Committee's jurisdictional authority over transportation security programs, the Coast Guard and communications matters conducted through the Federal Communications Commission, FCC, and the Department of Commerce. In large part, the debate focused on the difficulty of separating transportation safety issues from transportation security issues. It is difficult, if not impossible, to separate safety and security issues from general transportation policy. To consider security without understanding the impacts of the safety and market position of a mode of transportation could lead to unrealistic, contradictory, and counterproductive policies. Those tasked with the responsibilities of securing our transportation system need to understand the complexity of the systems operations from safety standards to market place realities. The two cannot be separated and the Senate vote effectively affirmed those arguments.

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