wigstheone
Jul 16, 02, 7:26 am
WASHINGTON, July 15 — Airport executives told the Transportation Security Administration today that the Dec. 31 deadline for searching all checked baggage for explosives was impossible to meet and that trying to do so could make security worse.
The secretary of transportation, Norman Y. Mineta, in an address to government employees, insisted that his department would meet all the deadlines set by Congress — but only if Congress promptly appropriated more money. Otherwise, Mr. Mineta said, his department will delay equipment orders, slow hiring and even furlough some employees, including air traffic controllers.
The assessments indicate the difficulties involved in meeting the baggage screening deadline Congress set last November as part of its response to the Sept. 11 attacks.
The airport executives have been saying for months that the Transportation Security Administration, created in the same piece of legislation, was moving too slowly on plans for rerouting luggage conveyor belts and making space for the large machines that scan bags for explosives.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/16/national/16AIR.html
The secretary of transportation, Norman Y. Mineta, in an address to government employees, insisted that his department would meet all the deadlines set by Congress — but only if Congress promptly appropriated more money. Otherwise, Mr. Mineta said, his department will delay equipment orders, slow hiring and even furlough some employees, including air traffic controllers.
The assessments indicate the difficulties involved in meeting the baggage screening deadline Congress set last November as part of its response to the Sept. 11 attacks.
The airport executives have been saying for months that the Transportation Security Administration, created in the same piece of legislation, was moving too slowly on plans for rerouting luggage conveyor belts and making space for the large machines that scan bags for explosives.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/16/national/16AIR.html