Wednesday, November 28, 2001
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Wednesday, November 28, 2001 |
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Federalizing airport guards just a Democratic jobs bill I decided that I should make this letter to Senators Cleland and Miller an open letter to the letters to the editor. I believe the airport bill went too far. President Bush has enough authority and enough agencies within his cabinet to have achieved what this bill does without increasing the size of government by 28,000 people. Do you really feel safer now than you did yesterday? I hope you remember these feelings during the 2002 elections. Sens. Cleland and Miller, I write to let you know I really feel much safer now that the airports in this country are under the full control of the U.S. government. Just think, a few days ago, the Atlanta Airport was closed down for four hours because of the abysmal security created by the private sector. Today, we, the American people, can feel safer more secure because the Senate and the House have now made those same employees "federal employees." Sen. Cleland in your Nov. 16 press release you stated that: "... Aviation security is critical to our national security, American passengers' personal security and our nation's economic security. The American flying public has the right to a bona fide professional security system at our airports one staffed by a highly-trained federal police force, not just the window dressing check-in system that has existed for years." They were "window dressing" yesterday, but now they're "bona fide professional security" personnel. They are "highly-trained federal police force." Our airports are no more secure now, or in the future, because the check-in personnel are now federal employees. Federal employees don't make good check-in employees. They just make good federal employees. They also make the federal government that much larger, something I thought you, Sen. Miller, were against. I thought we already had a group of "highly-trained" federal employees going under the heading of FAA. I also thought they were responsible for ensuring the safety of our airports and how they are run including the checkers and the police force. Now I ask you both. If our airports aren't safe under the direction of the FAA, just what makes you think our airports will be safe by making 28,000 private citizens federal employees? Now, since we have the FAA, why didn't you do something to make sure the rules and regulations created by the FAA are followed to the letter? Why not just make sure the private sector hires and trains the best security force instead of the dropouts from the Burger King? There was no need to federalize those people. You people are great in making laws, but you're pathetic when it comes to enforcing them. One thing is sure. Making 28,000 people federal employees will generate a lot of votes for the Democrats in the next election. This poses another question: Is America better off today with 28,000 new federal employees than we were yesterday? Or is the Democratic Party better off today with 28,000 new federal employees than we were yesterday? Charles G. James Fayetteville
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