House-Senate conference on aviation security could meet soon

A House-Senate conference committee on aviation security could convene quickly as House Speaker Dennis Hastert Friday said he would appoint conferees Tuesday.

The House voted Thursday night 286-139 for a GOP leadership-backed bill that would give the President flexibility to retain private security workers or hire federal employees for airport security.

But the Senate voted last month to require that screeners become federal workers, and the House narrowly defeated a Democratic proposal to do the same.

Hastert urged the House and Senate to meet "as soon as possible next week to start the process of reconciling these two approaches." In a statement, he urged conferees to keep in mind the President's support for the House version, which would grant him more flexibility.

The speaker's spokesman said he expected that House members would fight for the liability protection provisions added to the GOP version late in the process to attract votes by limiting lawsuits against property owners and airplane manufacturers as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"It probably helped with some votes," said the spokesman, referring to the fact that many moderate New York members were convinced by the provision to vote for the GOP bill.

House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., Friday urged Republicans not to delay on a appointing a conference committee.

"I was disappointed we didn't pass the Senate bill ... because we could have the bill on the President's desk right now," he said.

Gephardt said he would have liked the conference to meet as soon as this weekend. "I want to do everything I can do to get this bill done. Waiting until tomorrow is too long for me," Gephardt said.

President Bush Friday praised the House bill as "a good piece of legislation," and called on Congress to quickly produce a final bill. But he issued no ultimatums.

"We're prepared to take an active role to make sure that an airline security bill comes out of conference as quickly as possible," Bush said.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., the chief sponsor of the Senate bill that passed 100-0, said he was particularly concerned about the House language on screening checked bags.

"It's just outrageous that we're going to secure baggage by the end of the year 2003," he told reporters today. "I'd like to get it done this afternoon," he said, adding: "You know and I know that if a plane blows up, the country will grind right to a halt this afternoon."

The Senate bill is silent on the issue. Hollings also said he expected senators to stick together on their bill, but declined to address specific issues of how liability, musical instruments, or poultry exemptions that are in the House bill but not in the Senate bill would play out in conference.

A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., who earlier indicated he supports the House approach despite voting for the Senate bill, said Bush "should not be pressed into any program that may not solve our problem in combating airport terrorism."