Senate will probe air passenger screening

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. senators are to probe the way passengers boarding flights to the United States are screened against immigration and terrorist watch-lists.

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Terrorism, and Technology, said in a statement he will hold a hearing next week on passenger pre-screening by U.S. and other governments.

"The recent London bomb plot is a reminder that our enemies are seeking new ways to engage in the mass murder of innocent people, including assembling bombs on aircraft bound for the United States," said Kyl.

"Now is a good time to review what mechanisms we have in place to ensure that terrorists are intercepted before aircraft leave the ground, to determine how those mechanisms can be improved, and to examine vulnerabilities in the processing of international travelers."

The hearing will examine four programs used by the U.S. government: the Visa Waiver Program, which allows foreign nationals from 27 different countries, including Britain, to come to the United States without obtaining a visa; the Immigration Advisory Program, which allows U.S. immigration officials based abroad to pre-check the travel documents of foreign nationals before they board flights to the United States; the Advance Passenger Information System, which allows the Department of Homeland Security to check international arrivals against terrorist, criminal and immigration watch-lists before they get here; and Passenger Name Record data, which is contained in airline computers and can be "data mined" for clues about whether inbound passengers pose a risk.

The hearing will take place on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 2.00 pm and a witness list will be announced shortly, the statement said.