FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act--Continued--

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I yield myself 5 minutes.

I rise in support of the Wicker amendment. Senator Collins, who spoke earlier, is a cosponsor of this amendment. I might also note that Senator Coburn has joined as a cosponsor also. The Wicker amendment has everything to do with public safety. It has everything to do with preventing excessive litigation when it comes to the definitions of the roles of our TSA workers. It has everything to do with preventing increased deficits here in the United States and in the Federal Government.

For that reason, groups that support the Wicker amendment today and urge an ``aye'' vote include the Heritage Foundation, the Workforce Fairness Institute, and Americans for Tax Reform.

Just a little history for those who have not followed this debate over the last several days. Currently, TSA employees are not allowed to collectively bargain. That has been the policy of the Federal Government since the inception of the Transportation Security Administration. For a decade, TSA employees have not been allowed to collectively bargain.

Their rights and considerations and morale issues have been taken care of in other ways. Since the creation of TSA, its employees have been treated similar to those in the FBI, the CIA, and the Secret Service, for purposes of collective bargaining. In fact, in a 2003 memo, the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security, which is now the TSA Administrator, prohibited TSA security screeners from unionizing with collective bargaining rights.

The Under Secretary at the time made this decision ``in light of their critical national security responsibilities.'' That has been the regime under which we have operated the TSA for the entire existence of the agency.

Now, however, the Obama administration is intent on dolling out rewards to campaign supporters and they are moving to reverse this decades-long decision and to allow TSA workers to collectively bargain. My amendment would prevent that and, as I say, would keep the TSA employees under the same restrictions as the FBI, CIA, and Secret Service.

Senator Collins, in her modification to my amendment, provided some very important safeguards. It allows TSA workers to be under the Merit Systems Protection Board. It also provides Whistleblower Protection Act protections for TSA employees.

We are told our concerns about safety have been taken care of because the agreement or the decision by the TSA Administrator says we cannot have collective bargaining over other security issues. It named several, and then it says ``other security issues.'' What does that mean?

Well, that is what the former Administrator was talking about in the letter to Senator Collins. This is going to require litigation to determine what ``other security issues'' are. I will tell you what, apparently, is allowed under the Administrator's proposal. It does allow bargaining over the selection process for special assignment. It allows collective bargaining over the policies for transfers. It allows collective bargaining for shift training, as my friend from Iowa just acknowledged. All of these are going to make the TSA less flexible and less efficient in going about their business of protecting America.

I would close by saying this: There is a budget debate also. At the other end of this building, we are having hour after hour of debate about how to keep this deficit from ballooning, how to keep the cost of government from going up.

Does anybody think that allowing collective bargaining for 50,000 additional Federal employees is going to cut the cost of the Federal Government?

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has consumed 5 minutes.

Mr. WICKER. I yield myself 1 additional minute.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. WICKER. What is happening out in the States? State after State after State is facing bankruptcy, and a large part of it is the cost of government brought on by employee union contracts. That is just a fact. State after State, Governor after Governor, they are coming to Washington, DC and saying: We are going to have to do something about this. We are going to have break these contracts and save us from financial ruin.

At a time when Governors are moving in that direction and trying to get out from under these public employee collective bargaining agreements, would it not be the height of irresponsibility, would it not be the height of irony for the Federal Government to go in the other direction?

Vote for the Wicker amendment and save the taxpayers the additional money it will take to move to collective bargaining.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source