REMARKS
FOR
THE
HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY
OF TRANSPORTATION
REPUBLICAN
WOMEN’S FEDERAL FORUM
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
JANUARY
10, 2002
12:00
PM
Thank you,
Deni, for that kind introduction. I
appreciate the opportunity to join all of you today.
As Deni
indicated, I have a longstanding professional passion for improving the
efficiency and safety of our aviation system.
In fact, on the morning of September 11th, I had an early
meeting to discuss strengthening the aviation agreements between the United
States and our European partners.
My
calendar for the following day included a trip to New York City to address the
Wings Club, an important aviation forum, on the improvements we had seen in the
airlines’ on-time performance, and on our plans to further enhance the
capacity of our aviation system.
As you
know, at 8:45 that morning, all of our priorities changed.
On
receiving word of the first attack on the World Trade Center, I moved directly
to the Emergency Operations Center at the White House, where I joined Vice
President Cheney. As the minutes
passed, the developing picture from our control towers and radar screens became
increasingly more alarming.
As
soon as the nature and the scale of the terrorist attacks became clear, I took
the unprecedented step of directing all airborne aircraft to land at the nearest
airport, immediately and without exception.
Within
four minutes, controllers had directed 700 planes to safe landings.
Another 2,800 planes returned safely to the ground within the next 50
minutes. By shortly after noon,
less than four hours after the first attack, for the first time since man began
to fly, we had cleared U.S. airspace of all aircraft except military and
essential medical traffic.
America
witnessed numerous acts of heroism, both during and after the attacks of
September 11th, and I count among the unsung heroes of that day all
the men and women of the FAA who assisted in this astounding feat of crisis
management, as well as the calm and courageous pilots, flight deck crews and
cabin attendants of all the planes then aloft.
The
horrific events of September 11th not only thrust our Nation into
war, they also ushered in a new era in transportation, an era in which a
determined enemy has challenged one of America’s most cherished freedoms —
namely, the freedom of mobility.
I am proud
to tell you that, under the leadership of President Bush and Vice President
Cheney, this Administration is rising to meet the challenge.
Across every mode, the Department of Transportation has moved rapidly to
identify, and begin closing, the gaps in the level of protection for our most
critical transportation assets.
In particular, in the days immediately following
the attacks of September 11th, the USDOT started taking steps to tighten
aviation security, and together
with state and local authorities and the entire airline industry, we
have diligently worked at it every day since.
Over the
last several months, we have put into place a number of significant
improvements, which make air travel, already one of the safest means of
transport ever devised, even safer. And,
in the year ahead, we will continue to make improvements in aviation security,
week-by-week and month-by-month.
Some
of the steps we have taken are readily visible to the public, and some of them
are more behind the scenes. For
example, we immediately made funds available to the aviation industry to fortify
cockpits, and all major domestic carriers completed the necessary modifications
by the first part of November.
We
implemented a zero tolerance policy for airport security breaches, a policy we
will continue to enforce once aviation security becomes a direct federal
responsibility, both during the transition to the newly authorized federal
screening system, and well beyond.
We have
initiated complete criminal background checks on all employees with access to
secure areas at our airports. We
have trained and deployed more and more Federal Air Marshals to guard domestic
and international flights, and the National Guard has joined local law
enforcement officers in patrolling our airports.
Now, with
the passage of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, America stands
poised to take the next important steps. Beginning
next month, for the first time, aviation security will become a direct
responsibility of the federal government — not one under the control of the
airlines — and Congress has chosen DOT to make it happen.
This new
statute directs the DOT to build and staff a new law enforcement agency, called
the Transportation Security Administration, starting essentially from scratch
— an agency that will have more people than the FBI, the Drug Enforcement
Administration, and the Border Patrol combined — and to get it up and running
in the next 10 months.
In the
short time since President Bush signed the Act, we have started putting into
place the management structure and the key personnel necessary to coordinate
this process, both internally and externally, with our federal colleagues and
with our partners in state and local governments.
Earlier
this week, President Bush appointed a distinguished figure in American law
enforcement, John W. Magaw, a former director of both the Secret Service and ATF,
to lead this new agency as the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security.
In
today’s world of ever-present threats, the American traveling public could not
ask for a finer, more devoted public servant, nor an individual more qualified
in law enforcement and security than John Magaw, and we’re delighted to have
him on board.
With Under
Secretary Magaw at the helm, we intend to keep moving quickly, but carefully, to
build a strong foundation for this new Transportation Security Administration.
The law sets a number of extremely tight milestones, and we will hit each
of them as soon as humanly possible.
While the
statute provides DOT with considerable flexibility in implementing the new law,
we will continue to encourage constructive involvement from transportation
community stakeholders, from our friends on the Hill, and from the American
public.
But, I
also expect to hear from the naysayers, and from those who offer a thousand
reasons why we can’t do it one way but ought do it some other way.
Already, many of these self-styled experts have started second guessing
our efforts — all too often completely unencumbered by the facts.
Many of
you may have heard or read about some of the highly publicized breaches that
have occurred in the last several months. In
fact, since we announced our zero tolerance policy on October 30th of
last year, FAA special agents have ordered the evacuation of U.S. airport
terminals on more than 30 different occasions, not counting a number of
evacuations conducted by airports themselves.
Some
commentators have suggested these evacuations indicate ongoing problems with
aviation security. Just the
opposite is true. These evacuations
show the FAA’s willingness to take swift and immediate action to protect
against any and all breaches of security.
It is true
that much of the media attention since September 11th has focused on
aviation safety. But, Congress
created the Transportation Security Administration, not the Aviation Security
Administration. We are building
this new organization to develop better security procedures and heightened
awareness across every mode of transportation — including rail, highways,
transit, maritime and pipeline — as well as aviation.
Protecting
transportation infrastructure, and improving our ability to quickly respond to
future attacks, is crucial to daily life in America. In the days ahead, as we phase in many of these new security
measures, some of the traveling public may experience a few minor
inconveniences. We intend to do all
we can to minimize the hassles.
But, the
USDOT will do what we must to protect the traveling public — with safety and
security as our highest priorities. And,
I trust that the public will understand the need for tolerance, and will
recognize that, in today’s world, patience with heightened security measures
represents a new form of patriotism.
As
President Bush has said, in the aftermath of September 11th, all
Americans have new responsibilities. We
will remain vigilant, without giving in to exaggerated fears or passing rumors.
And, above
all, we will live in the spirit of courage and optimism.
Air travel
is safer today than it has ever been, and the DOT will do its part to keep it
that way. Going forward, I pledge
to you that we will create an aviation security organization that can do its job
with outstanding efficiency, and one that enjoys an esprit de corps and record
of achievement other federal agencies will seek to emulate.
And, I
know that, in the months and years ahead, all of us will join together as
Americans to make sure our great Nation will prevail.
Thank you, and God bless America.
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