Aviation security conferees to consider counteroffer

House and Senate aviation security conferees are set to privately meet this afternoon to discuss a new Republican counteroffer to a bifurcated system proposed Tuesday by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.

Her plan would require federal security workers at the top 31 most traveled airports, and allow the others to use private screeners or propose to use local law enforcement. House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee Chairman John Mica, R-Fla., said Republicans are developing a counteroffer to Hutchison's proposal that they will offer this afternoon.

House Speaker Hastert today said the House would stay in session into the weekend if necessary to vote on an aviation security conference report and urged the Senate to do the same.

"We're committed to staying here as long as we need to, to get that bill done," said Hastert, who warned members of a weekend session. "We're going to be here this weekend. I'm calling on the Senate to stay around here as well."

Asked about the Hutchison proposal, Hastert said he preferred a uniform system instead of an "apples and oranges" approach. "Sen. Hutchison left some airports one way and other airports another way," Hastert said. "Tiered systems probably won't work."

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., called on conferees to push toward an agreement that would federalize the security workforce and the House Democratic Caucus voted on a resolution saying it did not want to leave for Thanksgiving recess without passing an aviation security bill.

"After what happened on Monday, a lot of passengers are afraid to fly," Gephardt said.

Also, Consumers Union cited two recent incidents involving private screener lapses at Logan and Seattle airports as reasons why the system must be federalized.

But House Republicans, who would prefer private screeners run the airports under more intense federal supervision, say government is not necessarily the answer and point to lapses by FBI officials and others that allowed the terrorists to board the planes Sept. 11. "Federal employees failed to do their law enforcement job," Mica said Tuesday.