Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I want to talk for a moment on language that is in the statement of managers for the conference report on the Treasury and General Government's appropriations bills. This deals with the issue of a report that is to be submitted to Congress on personal search inspections policies and practices of the U.S. Customs Service. Because of the implications the personal search policy has for individual rights, Congress clearly needs to monitor proposed policies and their implementation. We have anticipated and we expect that Customs Service will prepare this report, a report that will cover changes being implemented, together with an action plan for further improvement in its personal search policies, and that they would submit this to the Secretary of the Treasury for approval and transmittal to the Committee on Appropriations. Let me make note of the fact that Commissioner Kelly has taken steps that demonstrate his commitment to improving Customs' policy on personal search of international passengers at our airports. The search process has been made less invasive. Supervisors are being made more accountable by being more closely involved in decisions to conduct a personal search. I think it is clear that the commissioner is committed to fairness in the processing of international passengers and making sure that there is no racial bias in selecting who is searched.”