Senate faces key vote on federalizing aviation security

Senate action on an aviation security bill may come to a head today when the Senate votes on a motion to limit debate on a key Democratic amendment to help displaced airline workers.

If cloture is invoked, Democrats will get the opportunity to vote on the amendment, sponsored by Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo., to provide extended unemployment, health and job training benefits to displaced workers.

If it fails, the Democratic leadership would likely pull the amendment and move forward on the rest of the bill, said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., who is the chief sponsor of the aviation security bill.

The Senate did agree to include a number of minor amendments on the aviation bill, but it is still hung up on the issue of federalizing airport security workers.

Senate Republicans have offered several different scenarios that would not fully federalize the workforce and could give oversight authority to the Justice Department, rather than the Federal Aviation Administration, as in Hollings' bill, aides said, although Democrats have not committed to them.

Meanwhile, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, laid down the gauntlet on the issue of federalizing security screeners Wednesday.

The Senate bill would federalize screeners at the largest airports and allow local law enforcement to control smaller airports.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee Chairman John Mica, R-Fla., who is crafting the GOP bill, said the bill would prevent "a large federal bureaucracy from replacing a small federal bureaucracy" by creating a new position of authority within the Transportation Department that would be in charge of transportation security.

House Democrats are preparing their own bill to offer as a substitute. "The Republicans are ideologically opposed to hiring more federal workers," said a spokesman for Transportation and Infrastructure ranking member James Oberstar, D-Minn.