WashingtonWire - 2004-09-06

TSA to Test CAPPS II Offshoot, 'Secure Flight'

The Transportation Security Administration within the next 30 to 60 days will begin checking up to 2 million daily airline passenger names against terrorist watch lists under a modified version of the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, known as CAPPS II.

Once phased in, the program, dubbed "Secure Flight," will allow the government to check passenger information against records currently not available to airlines, which do their own screening, the Department of Homeland Security said in a news release. It also allows checks against databases maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center.

TSA said its control of passenger screening would eliminate most false alerts. It said it would speed passenger traffic through airport screening and protect traveler privacy and civil liberties. "This new system will allow Homeland Security to implement a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission—to continue improving the use of 'no-fly' and 'automatic selectee' lists by using an expanded watch list," DHS Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security Asa Hutchinson said. "Secure Flight is a critical part of Homeland Security's overall layered strategy to secure the nation's commercial air transportation system."

The new program will be limited to trying to find terrorists in a bid to sidestep criticism of CAPPS II, which would have been used for other law enforcement purposes, TSA said. TSA Administrator David Stone called CAPPS II "dead." The new program includes a mechanism for passengers who feel unfairly singled out to seek redress. TSA also said it would conduct a "very limited" test to see if passenger identification can be verified using commercially available data. Congress and the commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks have urged TSA to take over the watch list to make it centralized and secure.

DHS Taps Designers For Anti-Missile Tech

The Department of Homeland Security, under pressure from Congress, awarded $45 million each to Northrop Grumman Corp. and BAE Systems over the next 18 months to see whether technology used by the military to protect aircraft from shoulder-fired missiles can be adapted for use by commercial airliners.

The two companies were selected over United Airlines to develop a prototype based on conceptual designs the three teams submitted under contracts awarded in January. The government in August rejected United's proposal. DHS said it chose designs by teams led by BAE and Northrop Grumman to use lasers to jam the guidance systems of incoming missiles over the approach of the United team to use flares and decoys to deflect missiles.

"We have been impressed with the progress made by these teams over the past six months," said Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. "Today, we take the next significant step in developing systems that could protect commercial aircraft from enemies that would do us harm."

Lawmakers, including Rep. Pete DeFazio (D-Ore.), the ranking Democrat on the House aviation subcommittee, and Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), have urged the Bush administration to move more quickly to adopt the technology after terrorists in November 2002 tried to down an Israeli charter jet in Kenya. Legislation that includes the Federal Aviation Administration's budget directs the administration to speed up its efforts. Rep. Israel said there are about 500,000 shoulder-to-air missile launchers in the world, 20 percent of which are in the hands of terrorist organizations. The Air Transport Association, the lobbying organization for the nation's airlines, estimates it would cost airlines up to $100 billion to install, maintain and operate anti-missile systems. It has urged Congress not to make airlines foot the bill.