Byron Dorgan: “I will speak at more length on the subject I talked about a few moments ago, the issue of the advance passenger…”

“I will speak at more length on the subject I talked about a few moments ago, the issue of the advance passenger information system, which sounds like an innocuous system but it is a very important system by which we help provide for this country's security. Let me describe exactly what has happened. We have 57 million people enter this country every year by airplane. Commercial airplanes from all around the world come into this country. We have some 57 million people on those airplanes entering the United States. There are 94 different air carriers flying those people into our country. There were 400,000 international flights with passengers processed into our country in the last year. The question, especially since September 11, and since the terrorist threats against this country resulted in these devastating attacks of mass murder, the question is, Who are these people who are entering our country? What is their background? Do their names show up somewhere on a list of people who are affiliated with or associated with a terrorist cell? Are they known or suspected terrorists? Who are they? In order to answer that question, we have what is called the advance passenger information system, which has 85 percent of the passengers covered by APIS because the carriers that are bringing them into this country voluntarily provide information to the Customs Service in America, saying here is our passenger list.”