Committee approves Ensign airport bill

Friday, Sept. 20, 2002 | 10:54 a.m.

The Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday approved legislation introduced by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., that will allow McCarran International Airport and roughly 40 other airports to miss a Dec. 31 deadline for installing new explosives detection machines.

Congress set the deadline in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, with the goal of checking 100 percent of airport luggage by year's end.

But McCarran and several dozen of the nation's largest airports need more time to renovate to make room for the new minivan-sized machines. After Dec. 31, airports will use bomb-sniffing dogs, increased hand searches and luggage identification procedures until the machines are installed, according to the legislation, which is part of a broader aviation security bill.

The Transportation Security Administration would establish new deadlines with each of the airports, and give lawmakers monthly progress reports, according to the legislation.

The full House and Senate are expected to approve the legislation in the coming weeks.