PREPARED REMARKS BY
U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY RODNEY E. SLATER
WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING FOR 8TH ANNUAL
MEETING
OF MUSLIM–AMERICAN COUNCIL
WASHINGTON, DC. , FRIDAY, MAY 7, 1999
Thank you, Director Cahill. President Khaja, officers and members of the American-Muslim- Council: I am delighted to have this opportunity to brief the Council’s 8th Annual Conference. I got a chance to meet with some of you in Detroit earlier this week, and it is a pleasure to see you again this morning.
I have been asked to report on how the U.S. Department of Transportation is working to ensure that we protect the safety and security of air travelers by screening passengers at America’s airports in a way that does not discriminate against Arab-Americans. I have therefore asked our General Counsel, Nancy McFadden, and the FAA Associate Administrator for Security, Admiral Cathal "Irish" Flynn, to join me to help answer some of your specific questions.
Important Concern
There are fundamental principles at stake here. Discriminatory application of airline security procedures against Arab Americans, American Muslims–or any other group–is unacceptable in a free society.
It is also against the law.
America was founded on the idea that we are all created equal. And this solemn commitment to tolerance binds us together. People from every corner of the world have come to America to share in the American dream and to contribute to America’s future.
America’s growing Muslim community, so ably represented at this Council meeting, is eloquent testimony to the renewing and enriching of our nation that results from the arrival of newcomers who share their ideas, values and cultural traditions with earlier immigrants.
If we are to realize our full potential as a nation in the new century and new millennium, we must embrace this diversity with enthusiasm. As President Clinton said in his State of the Union Message, "Our greatest challenge for the 21st century is to find a way to be One America."
The way I would like to conduct this briefing is to briefly describe how we at the Department of Transportation view the major issues of airline passenger screening–and then open the floor to your questions.
What is "Screening?"
First, with respect to airline security it is important to distinguish "profiling" from "screening."
Profiling is the practice of singling out passengers for special scrutiny based on personal attributes, such as race, ethnicity, national origin or religion.
Screening, on the other hand, is selecting passengers or passenger baggage for closer examination based on travel-related and other non-discriminatory indicators derived from the study of past security incidents.
In order to preserve the value of these screening indicators, we cannot disclose them to the public. If terrorists knew what we were looking for, they would be able to avoid selection. However, an unintended side effect of using non-disclosed criteria is that many believe that we are using impermissible factors, such as race, religion or national origin to screen passengers.
I can assure you that this is not the case. Two years ago the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice reviewed the selection criteria we use to screen passengers at U.S. airports. This study confirmed that these criteria do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, national origin or religion.
I am also pleased to report that reviews of our screening practices have failed to uncover instances of unlawful discrimination. However, we have identified undesirable practices that we have requested the airlines to change. For example, we have asked them to stop applying tags with stigmatizing wording on bags selected for closer investigation or unnecessarily embarrassing selectees by publicly escorting them in the terminal.
Computer Assisted Passenger Screening
The possibility of airline employees misapplying screening criteria, whether intentionally or accidentally, is one important reason we are moving as rapidly as possible to replace the manual system that had been used for more than 25 years with Computer Assisted Passenger Screening, or "CAPS." CAPS takes individual bias out the screening of passengers at check in. It now being used by all seven major airlines and many regional air carriers.
An important privacy feature incorporated into the CAPS system is that no permanent computer records or database is created by this process. The CAPS computer analyzes information voluntarily provided to the airlines in the course of routine commercial transactions and automatically deletes whatever records are created after the safe completion of each flight.
Last month the Federal Aviation Agency issued a proposed rule that will require all airlines to use CAPS in the future.. The automated system has many advantages, including greater sophistication, speed, and protection against the compromise of sensitive security information.
CAPS also has a much better record when it comes to discrimination complaints. Well over 90 percent of U.S. air passengers are now subject to the computerized selection system. As the system came on line, security-related discrimination complaints dropped rapidly–from 78 complaints in 1997, to 11 last year and 9 so far this year.
Other factors that may have contributed to the declining number of complaints include the growing use of high-tech explosive detectors, which has dramatically reduced the number of hand searches of baggage and changes in airline procedures in response to suggestions.
Why Screening is Necessary
We believe that the risk of terrorism is real enough to create a moral obligation to remain vigilant and to do as much as we can to minimize and eliminate this threat.
Ultimately we would like to apply the same security measures to each air passenger. While we are moving in that direction, imposing such a requirement today would be prohibitively costly and
create significant delays for passengers. For the time being, screening will continue to play an important and cost-effective role in aviation security by focusing our resources.
Future Plans
Despite the declining number of discrimination complaints, this Administration will not be satisfied with our response to Arab-American concerns about screening until the feeling of discrimination experienced by so many members of the community also changes.
We also will not be satisfied with studies that show that airline security screening is applied in a non-discriminatory manner toward identifiable groups, such as the Muslim-American community.
We are also committed to making sure that screening programs do not have a disparate impact on your community. To make sure that is the case, the Department of Transportation will strongly support efforts by the Department of Justice to study how security measures actually impact Arab Americans.
Our concern for fairness starts at the top, with the direct involvement of the President, who, along with the Vice President, the Attorney General, myself and other government officials has met with the leaders of the American Muslim community on a regular basis.
This Administration is committed not just to hearing what you have to say, but to actually listening to what you have to say. For example, last November in Detroit senior DOT officials met with Congressman John Dingell, local officials, members of the Arab-American community, and the airlines to open up lines of communication. I believe that this dialog put some good things in motion:
Conclusion
Let me summarize what I feel are the main points that need to be emphasized about our passenger security screening program:
First, we are committed to a system that significantly reduces the security hazards associated with terrorism to passengers who travel by air.
Second, we are committed to a screening system that is fair to all and discriminates against no one.
Third, we will do everything we can to improve the quality of communication between government and America’s diverse communities.
While we may have differences from time to time on the particulars of a given issue, the underlying commitment to justice and fairness all of us in this room share is stronger than any point-of-view. As we strive for a more just and equal society we must keep communication lines open.
Today’s briefing session is an important step toward forging a new consensus about what it means to be an "American."
Our national motto says it all: "E Pluribus Unum." Out of Many, One.
###