Madison Mayor Sue Bauman joined county supervisors Monday in advocating a federal airline security policy.
Federal legislators should establish a consistent plan to ensure safer air travel and give frequent flyers peace of mind, the mayor said, adding that her recent trip to Washington, D.C., exposed her to airline security policies at several different airports.
\At Dulles [in Washington], it wasn't clear that they were doing anything,"" Bauman said. She called for ""one uniform system of standards [to] ensure that all airline passengers are safe.""
Jim Cavanaugh, president of the South Central Federation of Labor, added that many people flying in the wake of the attacks have found widely varied luggage monitoring techniques.
Cavanaugh said he would like to see the U.S. Congress ""federalize airport security around the country,"" adding that the security he experienced in travel since Sept. 11 has ranged ""from shoddy to really thorough.""
The U.S. Senate voted unanimously Oct. 11 to make airport screeners federal employees, but the bill is still under consideration in the House.
County Sup. John Hendrick, District 6, said that while he strongly favors federalization of airport security, the county may attempt to take local action if Congress fails to create a national policy.
""The question of county employees is an open one,"" he said.
