Wayne Gilchrest: “I will say to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia, having spent weeks looking into this issue, not as a…”

“I will say to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia, having spent weeks looking into this issue, not as a Republican, not as a Democrat, but as someone who wants both wings to say passenger safety, someone who truly believes that it is keen that the Federal Government has responsibility for the safety and security of American citizens, that I also truly believe it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to provide security at our Nation's airports. So this bill, in my judgment, after talking to the Coast Guard, the CIA, the FBI, Customs, INS, airport security, State police, you name it, it is my considered judgment, after listening to them, that the Federal Government needs to be responsible in this case for airport security. What does that mean? That means that we want to make sure that behind every screener is a Federal agent. In some cases every screener will be a Federal employee, a Federal agent; and in some cases the baggage handlers will also be in that category. But be sure that every bag is going to be screened.”