Max Baucus: “I rise today to commend Senators Hollings and McCain for this much awaited, much needed piece of legislation and to urge…”

“I rise today to commend Senators Hollings and McCain for this much awaited, much needed piece of legislation and to urge my colleagues to help pass it. It is critical to our Nation's economy that we restore the flying public's confidence in the safety of the aviation system. We need to get more planes in the air and we need to make sure they are full. Legislation that improves and expands security at our airports and on planes is essential to getting citizens back in the air. While it is safer to fly today than it ever has been before, this package, which improves our Nation's aviation security, shows that the Senate is making an aggressive and firm commitment to America's aviation security and America's economy. Two weeks ago I was on a flight from Montana back to Washington. By chance, I sat next to a gentleman who I appointed to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs 20 years ago. He was an F-16 fighter pilot. And is now a commercial airline pilot. In the wake of the tragic events of September 11, he had a bunch of ideas to increase security on airplanes and airports. I asked him to write his ideas down. He found a scrap of paper and jotted them down. This is the paper he gave me. I am so pleased to see many of his ideas in S. 1447.”