Political Quotes

“Mr. President, over the past 4 months, the Islamic State has carried out two deadly terrorist attacks at airports. Taken together, these two attacks--one at Brussels Airport and one at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport--resulted in more than 500 injuries and more than 70 deaths. Since September 11, airport security efforts have emphasized securing aircraft against hijackings, but the Brussels and Istanbul bombings highlight other airport security vulnerabilities. As these attacks demonstrate, it is not just planes that are vulnerable. Both the Brussels and Istanbul attacks sought to exploit the largely unprotected areas outside the principal security checkpoints where the attackers could detonate bombs outside of screening. The large crowds of people who congregate in nonsecured areas of an airport--like security checkpoints, check-in counters, and baggage claim--make appealing targets for terrorists who like nothing better than maximum loss of life with minimum effort. This week, the Senate will take up the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, which will directly address the vulnerabilities exposed by these attacks. It will ensure that attacks like those that happened in Brussels and Istanbul don't happen at American airports. While this bill has gained new urgency in the wake of the bombings in Istanbul and Brussels, the reforms in this bill are not a hasty response to these attacks.…”