Bob Barr: “I rise today to support this very important legislation and urge my colleagues to support its passage. First, I would…”

“I rise today to support this very important legislation and urge my colleagues to support its passage. First, I would like to thank the Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mr. Young, and the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation, Mr. Mica, for their leadership in producing this legislation and getting it to the floor today. I was glad to sign on as a cosponsor of this legislation immediately, because it simply makes sense. The events of September 11th were indeed a defining moment in our history. For the first time in 60 years, the enemies of freedom attacked our country on our very own soil. Unlike the attack on Pearl Harbor, these enemies used our own airplanes as a weapon to murder thousands of innocent civilians. Such actions cannot be allowed to happen again. These terrorists were able to use box cutters and knives to take control of our planes, because they knew no one on the plane would be able to defend against even these rudimentary weapons. Since the events of September 11th, the Congress has acted swiftly to provide for air marshals, stronger doors, and better screening procedures, to reduce the terrorist threat to our commercial airlines and our citizens. All of these things make sense, but unfortunately, even these measures are not going to completely eliminate the possibility of terrorists seizing a plane.”