Bush would accept federal bag screeners

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A vote in the House of Representative on aviation security is set for Wednesday and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card acknowledged Sunday President Bush would reluctantly sign a bill that federalizes 28,000 baggage screeners if that is what it took to get the issue settled.

In a trip to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport two weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, in which four airliners were hijacked, the president called for an airline security package that would increase the number of sky marshals and place the federal government in charge of the security of America's more than 400 commercial airports. But the president's plan would allow the actual screening of passengers and luggage to be handled by private firms under federal supervision.

Two weeks ago, however, the Senate passed an airport security bill, 100-0, that would require the federal government to replace the 28,000 baggage screeners with federal employees. As a result, aviation security was stalled in the House for weeks while Republicans fought to pass a House bill that keeps the baggage screening function in the private sector.

"We will have federal supervision, we hope, over all employees," Card said Sunday, "and right now the supervision is really by the air carriers. We'd like the supervision to be by the federal government, but don't tie the hands of the Department of Transportation to hire people that might not be the best qualified."

Card and the White House have claimed keeping the screeners private employees would allow them to be replaced if they could not function properly instead of giving them the job protections of federal employees.

Republican House Majority Whip, Rep. Dick Army, appearing on the same show, repeated his charge that, "What the Democrats want is 30,000 new dues-paying contributors."

"It's pretty clear, " Army said. "What the Democrats are pushing here is that Congress write law that says everybody who is screening at the airports must be a federal employee and thereby a member of the union -- a federal union that happens to also be their most generous single contributor to their campaign."

The American Federation of Government Employees is a union that represents many federal employees.

In the next few days, several compromises are in the works. One, for instance, would require baggage screeners at larger airports be federal employees and allow screeners at smaller, less- traveled airports to be private employees.

Card said Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge said he is working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Immigration and Naturalization Service on another aspect of aviation security, "to find out how we can better monitor people who are coming into this country."

He said among the things they are looking at is a requirement that airlines bringing passengers into the United States submit a passenger list of all on board, including backgrounds on each passenger, before the plane arrives.