Perspective: Action needed on aviation security

The congressional impasse over whether to federalize airport security workers is only one part of a bigger problem. Handing this function to the federal government is the ideal solution. But regardless of whom they work for -- the government or a private contractor -- screeners will need better pay, training and equipment. Making sure that happens will be Washington's responsibility. And the clock can't start until Congress agrees on a bill the president can sign.

House Democrats and Republicans have used the security bill to wage partisan war over the scope and role of government. To his credit, President Bush, who lobbied hard for the Republican plan, which leaves security to private companies, has said he is less focused on the particular approach than with moving something forward. The flying public needs a sign, especially with the holidays coming, that the government has a better handle on the people and luggage traveling by air.

Taking the job away from private, for-profit companies would be a good start. Even with the heightened security since Sept. 11, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said "an unacceptable number of deficiencies continue to occur" at the nation's airports. Deadly weapons are still getting past security checkpoints. Federal agents evacuated a terminal Thursday at Kennedy International Airport after contract workers were seen waving passengers through without checking them with metal-detecting wands. There lies a fundamental problem. Low-bid companies cut corners to survive. The result is that it's easier to board an aircraft in America than to use a bathroom at a federal courthouse.

The House of Representatives played a reckless political game by rejecting a Senate measure Thursday to put security screening in government hands. The Senate plan would be the better one to emerge from conference, but the imperative now should be to get a comprehensive security plan into place. Both the House and Senate bills impose tougher hiring standards and background checks to help weed incompetent screeners from the ranks. They expand the deployment of armed air marshals, require stronger cockpit doors and prompt the Federal Aviation Administration to develop procedures for matching luggage with passengers and inspecting every bag. Those concrete steps offer immediate protections to the flying public.

The safety of air travel is a national concern, and Congress needs to make a priority of sending the president a bill. In the meantime, Mineta has offered some assurances that the administration will exert a strong hand; security, he told a transportation group Tuesday, "must show improvement right away."

The FAA is watching security workers more closely and has shown a greater willingness to use its authority to hold flights or clear airports in response to security concerns. It's time to formalize this deeper engagement with an aviation security bill. We can live with either version, but not with more delay.

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