I think this serves two purposes:

1) gather raw data to see what IT contractors behind the scenes can massage out of it - all essentially away from the public eye and in secret. The results of these findings will be used to either abandon or move forward with a CAPPS-II type product, possibly also in secret, possibly without Congressional oversight. DHS and the TSA are growing 'tired' of Congressional nitpicking and their pesky use of Constitutional protections.

2) use the data to keep track of people exposed to the Bird Flu for purposes of keeping their whereabouts known when the government decides its quarantine time. Make no mistake - this Administration does not have our best interests at heart. They are not going to use this information to send out a nice letter asking me to see my doctor. When this thing starts spreading from human to human, they will start rounding people up in droves - this is their way of making it easier to find us, especially the early contaminees who acquired the disease abroad.

This is not a conspiracy theory, it's just a logical extension of previous practices and statements made by the Administration. Hope I'm wrong? You bet I do.