Daniel Inouye: “just 2 weeks ago, the Senate considered comprehensive legislation to address the transportation security needs of this…”

“just 2 weeks ago, the Senate considered comprehensive legislation to address the transportation security needs of this country. That bill was not written overnight. It was the culmination of 2 years of bipartisan work within the Commerce Committee, the Banking Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Homeland Security Committee. While we have had our jurisdictional debates during the past 2 years, this week we somberly observed the fifth anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. We set aside those debates, and as a body, came together and passed a comprehensive bill improving security for all modes of transportation. The Senate passed that bill by a vote of 98 to 0, and we took a huge step toward making our Nation a safer place to live, work, and travel. I had hoped that today I would be telling my colleagues that the House and Senate conferees had recognized they had the rare opportunity, for the first time in 5 years, to address transportation security in a comprehensive manner.”