FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 6, 2002

SCHUMER CALLS ON FAA TO RESTORE TOUGH AIRPORT SECURITY STANDARDS, REQUIRE SCREENERS TO HAVE HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS

Senator Criticizes FAA For Relaxing Security Standards Just 4 Months After 9/11 and Dropping High School Diploma Requirement, Says FAA Cannot Revert to the Status Quo

With Area Airports Experiencing Significant Drop in Passengers, Local Economy and National Cannot Afford Further Erosion of Public Confidence in Air Safety

US Senator Chuck Schumer today called on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to restore tough airport security standards and require all airport screeners to possess a high school diploma. The FAA recently relaxed its initial standards and decided not to require airport passenger and baggage screeners to possess a high school diploma because the requirement would prevent 7,000 current baggage screeners from being rehired under federal airport control. Schumer criticized the FAA's decision, saying that ensuring airport and airline security means meeting tough standards and not simply settling for the status quo. Schumer also said that the New York City and national economies could not withstand further drops in air travel and tourism, and that any measures eroding public confidence in air safety would cause immeasurable harm.

"Four months hasn't even passed since September 11 and the FAA is already back to business as usual by dropping the high school diploma requirement for screeners," Schumer said. "Didn't we learn anything? The whole point of the airline security bill was to prevent terrorists from getting through security checkpoints and onto our airplanes. That means hiring highly qualified screeners, and one of those qualifications has to be possessing a high school diploma."

The aviation security bill passed by Congress federalized airport security. The legislation directed the FAA to hire, train, test and deploy the nation's 28,000 passenger and baggage screeners by November, 2002. The FAA initially said that all screeners would be required to possess high school diplomas, but on December 19, the Transportation Security Administration (the division of the FAA handling airport security) reversed its decision and said that one year of relevant work experience would be accepted in lieu of high school diplomas because 7,000 current airport screeners would otherwise be disqualified. The FAA has said that one year of work experience as an airline screener would suffice, even under the lax standards, non-existent hiring requirements and poor training that contributed to the conditions that made the events of September 11 possible.

Schumer criticized the FAA's decision, saying, "The airline security bill wasn't a job protection act. Just keeping all of the same screeners we have now won't make air travel any safer. What was the point of federalizing airport security if we're just going to rehire the same people whether they're qualified for the job or not?"

Federal screeners will be paid, on average, a starting salary of $30,000 per year, double what screeners currently make. Schumer said that with over 80,000 layoffs in the airline industry alone and an economy mired in recession and marked by a steady stream of layoffs, attracting qualified employees to fill positions currently held by screeners without high school diplomas would not be difficult. Several recent FAA job fairs to fill just 225 temporary positions attracted 2,500 interested candidates. "We need airport screeners who can do the job," Schumer said. "Screeners have to talk to people, ask good questions, interpret their answers and make difficult judgments. No one should be willing to put their safety in the hands of unqualified screeners. This is just too important to leave to chance."

Schumer sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta asking him to reinstate the high school diploma requirement. "It was not Congress' intent to merely preserve the status quo when we passed the airline security legislation," Schumer wrote. "How can we expect our airports to be secure and how can we expect the public to feel secure when we won't even require the people charged with protecting our airports to meet minimum standards?"

Schumer also said that the FAA's decision would further erode public confidence in airport security, deterring even more people from flying. Passenger traffic at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports fell 13.5% in 2001, with just 80 million passengers traveling through the three airports compared to 92 million in 2000. Passenger traffic is already expected to fall an additional 9% – 7.5 million passengers – in 2002.

"Not requiring the highest possible standards and qualifications for airline security workers sends exactly the wrong message," Schumer said. " The best way to get people to fly is to ensure that security is high. Every time someone decides not to fly, that hurts the airlines, it hurts our hotels, our restaurants, theaters, taxi drivers, rental car agencies, and hundreds of other businesses that rely on travel and tourism for their survival. Our economy has been hurt enough by the recession and the terrorists. We don't need the FAA to make it worse."

On November 16, Congress passed the aviation security bill, putting airport security under federal control, including making all passenger and baggage screeners federal employees accountable to higher standards. The bill also requires all checked baggage to be screened for bombs and explosives, cockpit doors to be reinforced and locked while aircrafts are in flight, federal security directors at every airport, and a significant increase in the number of sky marshals. The legislation gave the FAA the authority to dismiss airport screeners who do not meet standards, as well as the ability to set the salaries and benefits for screeners. The new security measures are expected to cost approximately $2.6 billion. To help cover the costs of the improvements, passengers will pay a $2.50 fee for each leg of a flight.

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