Senator Schumer Discusses the Expense of Defending America Against Terrorism

SAFER: (Voiceover) They're a lethal blend of simplicity and sophistication. Just five feet long and 35 pounds, like the Stinger missiles we gave the Afghans, they can be aimed and fired in a matter of seconds. Reaching altitudes of 15,000 feet, their heat-seeking warhead will chase a jet engine at Mach 2, twice the speed of sound. A missile fired from one mile away will hit its target in three and a half seconds. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York believes they pose an imminent threat for which we are unprepared.

Senator CHARLES SCHUMER (Democrat, New York): What we know is that 27 terrorist groups, including al-Qaida, have these weapons. We know they fit in the trunk of your car. And so someone could drive, get on a rooftop near an airport, go into a woods near an airport, and fire one of these. If I were a terrorist, this would be probably the easiest way to kill hundreds of people and scare tens of millions.

Sen. SCHUMER: The airlines very much want the systems on board, but the airlines are nearly bankrupt. And if we wait for them to pay for it, we'll wait too long.

Sen. SCHUMER: It is a large expense, but just think of the expense if, God forbid, even one plane were shot down successfully by one of these missiles on American soil. People would stop flying, the economy would go right down into the clinker, and we'd lose that amount of money in a month or two.