Sen. Nelson calls for increase in airport security in wake of shooting

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee which oversees the FAA, called for an increase in airport security in the wake of Friday’s deadly shooting at the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Nelson made the comments during his opening remarks at the Commerce Committee’s confirmation hearing today for Elaine Chao, the president-elect’s nominee to be the next Secretary of Transportation.
“While we’ve made some progress in last year’s FAA bill to double the number of the VIPR teams, the dog teams, and bolster the screening of airport workers, this tragic shooting serves as reminder that our work to improve airport security remains a constant challenge,” Nelson said. “This year’s FAA reauthorization bill, that we will have to take up, could be a good place to start if more needs to be done to prevent similar tragedies from occurring.”
Video of Nelson’s remarks is available here: https://youtu.be/cLrl4tprRG4
And here’s a transcript:
Sen. Bill Nelson
Remarks at Senate Commerce Committee Hearing
January 11, 2017
Sen. Nelson: As we start out, I want to take a minute to express, on behalf of the Committee, condolences to the friends and loved ones of the victims of Friday’s horrific shooting at Fort Lauderdale’s airport.
And I want to thank the heroic work that was undertaken by first responders and law enforcement personnel in responding.
And although the investigation remains ongoing, I expect all of us in the Congress to continue exploring ways to protect the traveling public in light of this tragic incident.  And while we’ve made some progress in last year’s FAA bill to double the number of the VIPR teams, the dog teams, and bolster the screening of airport workers, this tragic shooting serves as reminder that our work to improve airport security remains a constant challenge.
This year’s FAA reauthorization bill that we will have to take up could be a good place to start if more needs to be done to prevent similar tragedies from occurring.
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