Political Quotes

“I rise to speak in support of the nomination of John S. Pistole to be Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and talk about collective bargaining for TSA employees. The TSA has been without a Senate-confirmed leader for a year and a half. During the last 5 months, we have experienced two major transportation security incidents: the unsuccessful December 25 bombing of Northwest flight 253 and the near escape of the failed Times Square bomber. I welcome the President's nomination of a career FBI official with extensive counterterrorism experience, FBI Deputy Director John S. Pistole, to head the TSA. I look forward to the Senate's swift confirmation of Mr. Pistole for this critical position. During the confirmation hearings for Mr. Pistole, the issue of collective bargaining for TSA employees was raised. Mr. Pistole stated that he is going to study the issue, gather all the information he can from stakeholders, and make a recommendation to Secretary Napolitano. Some Members of Congress, however, are strongly opposed to collective bargaining for TSA employees. Their opposition is grounded in the concern that we need to adapt quickly and effectively to specific aviation threats. The underlying premise of this argument is that we must choose between protecting the Nation from threats to aviation and collective bargaining.”