As President Bush stated in the days following September 11, America is engaged in a new kind of war, with many fronts and many aspects. There is the war in the air and on the ground in Afghanistan. There is the war to seize financial assets of terrorist organizations in the US and worldwide. And there is the war to make Americans feel safe in their day to day lives and in their travel.

There will be contention and debate about how this new kind of war will be fought. So long as we maintain our basic principles, that debate is good and healthy. There will not always be agreement on each issue but there will be agreement on our ultimate victory in this multi-faceted battle. Within that context, one legislative skirmish was fought last week. That skirmish concerned airport security. I believe that airport security is a national security issue, and one of few roles of government. And that's why I supported the Senate-passed bill that would federalize airport security. As a conservative, nine times out of ten, I would vote for privatization and smaller government. This was the tenth time, and my rationale was simple and straightforward.

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One of our key priorities must be to restore the public's confidence in air travel as quickly as possible. Currently, security is the responsibility of the airlines – who have different concerns and priorities besides national security. Our transportation security must be a priority, with the focus, coordination and influence that a dedicated federal office would give. We need a uniform security system for which your elected governmental officials are ultimately accountable because we cannot be permitted to pass the buck on the question of the security of the 270 million people who live and travel here in the United States. We can no longer rely on foreign corporations who submitted the lowest bid to guarantee victory in this facet of the war on terrorism. To attract competent, dedicated people who can ensure our safety, I firmly believe that airport security needs to be a career, not just a temporary job. And we cannot afford to have gang members, convicted felons and illegal aliens securing this line of American defense.

Unfortunately, the recent incident at Chicago's O'Hare Airport where a Nepalese national successfully smuggled knives, a stun gun and mace through airport security only confirms my concerns about these private companies. The corporation in charge of security at O'Hare is a foreign corporation which in violating already existing federal guidelines was fined over $1 million last year. Obviously that fine did not improve their performance on Saturday at O'Hare. In order to avoid blame-shifting and in order to encourage acceptance of the full responsibility for the security of the traveling public, I believe that we must place baggage security screeners and federal air marshals under one umbrella.

The system which I envision and which was part of the Senate bill which I supported would allow for immediate removal of substandard employees, would require a much higher performance standard for our security practices and personnel, would include extensive background checks, as well as more rigorous training and would result in a stronger, more consistent security system in our nation's airports. The House and Senate will now meet to work out differences between our two bills.As long as we keep politics out of the debate, we will present a compromise that ensures our national security and the security of our American public. As Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas has so eloquently stated:

Until September 11th, we believed nothing like this could ever happen on our lands. That sense of security has now been shattered, but our spirit has not. We will institute new security measures. We will defend our citizens – and we will defend our freedom.