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Senate Dems Vote to Weaken Homeland Security, Republican Says
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
March 07, 2007

(CNSNews.com) - Forcing the Transportation Security Agency to collectively
bargain with labor unions will undermine the safety of the traveling public,
a Republican senator warned.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is upset that Senate Democrats refused to drop a
collective bargaining provision from a bill enacting the 9/11 commission's
recommendations.

"It's outrageous that some politicians want to protect union bosses more
than they want to protect Americans from terrorist attacks," said Senator
DeMint. "This provision was not even recommended by the 9/11 Commission --
it was recommended by labor unions, DeMint said.

DeMint pointed to estimates showing that labor unions stand to gain $17
million in new membership dues if the TSA's 48,000 airport screeners and
other employees unionize.

"Collective bargaining will tie TSA's hands with needless red-tape and
create a homeland security disaster," DeMint warned. "This earmark for the
labor unions will force us to negotiate with unions on daily security
decisions before we can act to save American lives."

Collective bargaining would reduce the TSA's flexibility, critics say. In
fact, Congress specifically rejected collective bargaining for TSA employees
when the agency was created after 9/11 attacks.

Lawmakers insisted that airport security personnel must be responsive and
adapt quickly to terrorist threats.

"We cannot let our defenses down and return to a pre-9/11 mindset," DeMint
said. "The threat of terrorism is very real and our enemies are constantly
changing tactics to attack America's aviation system. TSA must be allowed to
work quickly and flexibly to defeat the terrorist threat."

President Bush has threatened to veto the overall bill if it contains the
collective bargaining provision, and so far, 36 senators and 146 members of
the House of Representatives have signed letters pledging to sustain the
anticipated veto.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warned President Bush and Republicans not
to block "this critical homeland security legislation."

He said the Senate has an obligation to the 9/11 families and to the rest of
the country. "More than five years after 9/11, it is time to finally secure
our rail, air, and mass transit systems; give our first responders the tools
they need to keep us safe; and block terrorists from traveling freely into
our country."

Although there has not been another terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11,
Reid accused President Bush and past Republican Congresses of leaving the
U.S. "less safe than it should be."

Since Democrats took control of Congress, they have advanced several
union-friendly bills. The House passed a bill raising the federal minimum
wage in January, but that bill is now stalled, as Democrats argue over the
need to cut taxes for businesses that will have to pay a higher minimum
wage.

Last week, the House passed a bill that will make it easier for to form
unions in the workplace, but Republicans are expected to block it in the
Senate.