TERRORISM AND TOURISM: TWA 840 BOMBING AND OVERSIGHT OF THE FOREIGN AIRPORT SECURITY ACT THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 1986 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AF- Washington, DC. The subcommittees met jointly at 10 a.m., in room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Dante B. Fascell (chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs), presiding. Chairman FASCELL. The committees will come to order. The Aviation Subcommittee chaired by my good friend from California, Hon. Norm Mineta, and the International Operations Subcommittee by my colleague, Dan Mica of Florida, who is on his way, and the Subcommittee on Arms Control International Security and Science, chaired by myself are meeting jointly today to continue our hearings on international terrorism the Foreign Airport Security Act. I must say that I am very proud of the cooperation that we have exhibited here between two committees of the Congress that have jurisdiction in working together to fashion very important legislation and to continue our efforts to protect the safety of the traveling American public and to assist our airline industry, and to address the concerns of international terrorism. Today's focus is on the impact on tourism and the adequacy of foreign airport security. There is no question in anybody's mind, of course, that tourism has plummeted to some of the major tourist areas. The facts speak for themselves, with travel agencies reporting 90 percent cancellations to Europe. So, Americans are doing collectively with good judgment what governments seem unwilling to do. And they are imposing their own sanctions against governments who are unwilling to take strong action against international terrorism. In effect, they are voting on this issue with dollars. It is obvious that we all need to work together. International terrorism is an attack, not just on the United States, but on democracy's civilized countries in general. Pilots have been complaining about the safety of airlines, passengers, and airport security for years. One concrete suggestion that I have been advocating for some time now is a coordinating committee at the international level so that we could have in one place the political mechanism, the en forcement mechanism, the communication mechanism for all countries to, hopefully, work together and act together on this matter. Presently, this isn't the case and we all function in an ad hoc way. It seems that without establishing another layer of bureaucracy that it would be very simple in each government to designate some person who would have the responsibility of internal coordination of that government, and then in turn be part of an international coordinating committee. We have discussed this suggestion with many countries and their representatives, and we are going to pursue this idea and see if we cannot do something that would formalize the communication process among our allies instead of doing it ad hoc when an emergency arises. Last year, as you all know, with our two committees we passed landmark legislation, and we do not claim, of course, that the Foreign Airport Security Act by itself will cure all of the problems and that terrorism will go away. But it does require mandatory security assessments of foreign airports, and it triggers travel advisories and other sanctions in cases where airports are deemed to have substandard security. So, we think it's a solid start-Norm Mineta, Dan Mica and I and our colleagues. We look forward to hearing from the expert witnesses today. We will be very interested in their testimony. As far as our committees are concerned, we pledge our continued cooperation to enact whatever legislation may seem necessary and we pledge to remain vigilant in our oversignt on this important subject. Mr. Mineta. Mr. MINETA. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. First of all, I want to express my appreciation to both Chairman Fascell and Chairman Mica for cooperating with us in scheduling these hearings. Last summer, our two committees worked together most effectively to pass legislation establishing the Foreign Airport Security Program. We are pleased to continue our good working relationship by conducting these oversight hearings. The recent tragic bombing of the TWA aircraft and the increased threat of terrorism created by our confrontation with Libya make these hearings extremely timely. The hearings will allow us to consider whether existing legislation gives our Government all the authority it needs to protect our citizens against terrorism directed against aviation, and whether our Government is making good use of the legislative authority it already has. In 1973 we passed legislation requiring the Federal Aviation Administration to establish passenger screening and other security programs at domestic airports. As I have indicated and as has already been indicated by Chairman Fascell, last summer we passed major legislation to provide increased security for U.S. passengers traveling abroad. The new legislation requires the Department of Transportation to make regular assessments of the security situation at foreign airports and to be certain that the security programs at these airports meet, at a minimum, the standards agreed to by the International Civil Aviation Organization. If an airport refuses to develop an adequate security program, the legislation requires the Department of Transportation and the Department of State to take steps to advise the traveling public so that passengers can be aware of the risks in travel. The legislation also gives the Department of Transportation expanded authority to terminate the authorization for airlines to serve foreign countries whose airports do not have adequate security. In addition, our Government is permitted to take action against foreign countries which refuse to cut off service to countries with problem airports. This new legislation has now been on the books for more than 6 months, and so this is an appropriate time to conduct oversight hearings on how the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration are implementing the legislation and whether the legislation is adequate. The TWA bombing and the Libyan confrontation create an even greater urgency for this inquiry. We recognize that no security system can be foolproof, but we want to be sure that we are doing as much as can be done and that what we are doing is done effectively. If there are problems which cannot be remedied, we must be certain that the public will be adequately advised of the dangers in travel. Again, I want to commend you, Mr. Fascell, and Chairman Mica for working with us in scheduling these important and timely hearings. I want to commend our very distinguished colleague from Arkansas, the ranking Republican on the Aviation Subcommittee, Mr. John Paul Hammerschmidt, for his interest and work on this regard. And at this time let me yield to that very fine gentleman, Mr. Hammerschmidt. Mr. HAMMERSCHMIDT. I thank my chairman for yielding and I want to also thank Chairman Fascell, Chairman Mica in joining us for these joint hearings. As has been stated, the recent terrorist incidents raise anew many of the questions about airport security that we have been considering over the past year. As Mr. Fascell says, this has caused many travelers to abandon travel plans to the detriment of our international airlines. The big question I suppose this morning is whether the existing security system is up to the task. Do we need to move ahead more vigorously with systems that can detect vapors from plastic explosives, for instance? Should we rely on x ray or scanning devices or more on physical hand searches? Do we need further restrictions on access to aircraft by ground workers? These and many other questions must be addressed during this hearing; I thank the chairmen of our committees for calling this hearing and I look forward to the testimony of the witnesses here today. Thank you very much for yielding. I thank you, Mr. Chairman. [Mr. Hammerschmidt's statement follows:] STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN PAUL HAMMERSCHMIDT MR. CHAIRMAN: WE WERE ALL SHOCKED AND ANGERED BY THE RECENT BOMBING OF TWA FLIGHT 840 THAT WAS FLYING BETWEEN ROME AND ATHENS. IT IS CLEAR THAT HIJACKING AND SABOTAGE CONTINUE TO THREATEN THE LIVES AND PROPERTY OF AMERICANS TRAVELING ABROAD. THIS, AND OTHER RECENT TERRORISTS INCIDENTS IN EUROPE, DEMONSTRATE THE NEED FOR CONTINUED STRONG SECURITY MEASURES IN THAT AREA. AS YOU KNOW, BOTH OF OUR COMMITTEES WORKED TOGETHER LAST YEAR TO GET LEGISLATION ENACTED TO STRENGTHEN SECURITY AT FOREIGN AIRPORTS. IT IS THEREFORE QUITE APPROPRIATE THAT WE SHOULD COME TOGETHER AGAIN TO REVIEW THE EFFECTS OF THIS LEGISLATION. THE LEGISLATION REQUIRES THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO ASSESS SECURITY AT FOREIGN AIRPORTS AND DIRECTS THE GOVERNMENT TO NOTIFY PASSENGERS WHEN SECURITY AT AN AIRPORT DOES NOT AT LEAST MEET INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS. UNFORTUNATELY, THE THREAT OF TERRORISM PERSISTS AND CONTINUES TO POSE A DANGER TO CIVIL AVIATION. THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT THERE HAVE NOT BEEN SOME SUCCESSES. RECENT FAA REPORTS INDICATE THAT EXISTING SECURITY SYSTEMS IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE SUCCEEDED IN DETECTING HUNDREDS OF FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES, AND HAVE LED TO THE ARRESTS OF MANY PEOPLE INCLUDING, NO DOUBT, SOME POTENTIAL HIJACKERS AND TERRORISTS. BUT IT ONLY TAKES ONE TO GET THROUGH THE SYSTEM IN ORDER TO CAUSE A DISASTER. ALL TOO CLEARLY RECENTLY. WE'VE SEEN THAT |