Administration offers compromise to GOP on aviation security

As House members and senators started work in conference to reconcile their aviation security bills Thursday, the administration has begun to offer suggestions for a possible compromise--at least to Republicans.

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member John McCain, R-Ariz., said administration officials suggested federalizing the security workforce at the nation's smallest airports.

The Senate bill would federalize the screeners at the nation's largest airports, and the House bill would give the administration the option to hire federal workers.

While McCain did not comment on the offer, he said he was pleased about the dialogue with the White House and expects the conference issues to be resolved in the next several days.

House Republicans, such as House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee Chairman John Mica, R-Fla., also have talked with White House officials since Wednesday's conference meeting on the federalization issue, and administration officials are said to be involved in staff-level meetings that will continue through the weekend.

"We're all looking at, first of all, federalizing the whole process and then trying to see what levels of federalization are best where. There are a lot of questions of transitions and protocol," Mica said in a phone interview with CongressDaily.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., who is chairing the conference, said he was unaware of any offers but did not appear to see as a threat a letter 17 Senate Republicans had sent to conferees Wednesday, throwing their support behind the House bill.

When told of the letter, Hollings said, "That's all they could get?"

The senators' letter explains why they voted for the Senate bill.

"While we supported and the Senate unanimously passed S.1447, we had strong misgivings with respect to the federalization of airport screeners," the letter says. "In addition to the urgency of passing an aviation security bill, our support of S. 1447 was largely due to other important security provisions, such as reinforced cockpit doors and an increased presence of federal air marshals," the letter continues.

The Senate bill also calls on the Justice Department to take on the bulk of airport security supervision, while the House bill would place authority in the Transportation Department--an issue that may present an obstacle in conference, although Mica said he was fairly confident that supervision would end up with DOT.

House Transportation and Infrastructure ranking member James Oberstar, D-Minn., a conferee who supports the Senate bill, said he thought the Senate Republicans voted for the Senate bill "out of a frustration that things were not happening fast enough out of DOT" but cautioned that DOJ's record was not stellar.

Oberstar had drafted an aviation security bill giving authority to DOT.

He said he was optimistic that a deal could be struck by next week and cautioned that it would be "very harmful to Republicans if this [conference] is not done by next Friday." That is when Congress is expected to adjourn for the Thanksgiving recess.