Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I am getting as frustrated as the senior Senator from Arizona. We have been working on aviation security since September…”

“I am getting as frustrated as the senior Senator from Arizona. We have been working on aviation security since September 12, 2001. I introduced the bill that would increase the number of sky marshals that very week. I could see the traveling public was going to be stunned. Of course what has happened is even worse than that. The impact on the economy of having people stay out of airplanes and airports is staggering. It was a domino effect. The airlines are flying at half capacity. They are not flying as many flights. Hotels are not full. Rental cars are not being rented. The cancellation of conventions all over the country is being reported. We can do something about this. We have been working on it in a very bipartisan way. There are very few disagreements on the bill--things we can work out or have amendments, vote them up or down, and we can send a decent package to the President. What is holding the legislation up is extraneous amendments. These amendments may have merit, but they are not worked out yet and they are not relevant to aviation security.”