HEBRON — The head of the Federal Aviation Administration Friday acknowledged that Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport does not have the necessary equipment to scan checked luggage for explosives.

        In the meantime, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said that she favors a Republican proposal to keep some aspects of airline passenger screening in the private sector — a measure that is expected to hit the House of Representatives' floor Wednesday.

        “We ought to have the flexibility to use federal employees where we need to and to use private sector where we can,” said Ms. Garvey. “What's really important is the direct federal control.

        “Obviously if we're controlling the contracts and writing the contracts, we can set the wages where they need to be, and that is clearly an issue,” said Ms. Garvey, referring to reports of low pay and high turnover at airport security firms nationwide.

        Ms. Garvey had not previously said whether she preferred some privatization, as the GOP-controlled House is seeking, or full federalization as called for by a Senate bill passed unanimously earlier this month.

        She made her comments during a tour of the local airport, the nation's 24th largest, one of many such visits since Sept. 11.

Compliments local efforts

        Ms. Garvey, who complimented local airport officials for their security precautions, came at the request of U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., chairman of the House appropriations transportation subcommittee, which oversees funding for the FAA and other transportation agencies.

        In line with what President Bush has requested, the House airport security proposal would provide direct federal oversight of screeners who would remain employed by private companies under contract to the government.

        It differs from a $2 billion bill passed unanimously by the Senate earlier this month that calls for the nation's 28,000 screeners to become federal employees.

        Currently, airlines hire private security firms to conduct passenger screening.

        Mr. Rogers said that unlike the Senate bill, which calls for the Department of Justice to oversee airport security, the function needs to remain in the Transportation department, a notion seconded by Ms. Garvey.

        “And the federal person in charge needs to be able to access all federal databases, whether it be CIA, INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) or FBI,” said Mr. Rogers of Somerset, who said the new agency would eventually oversee all transportation security, including pipelines, trucks and highways. “We need to be screening not only bags, but we need to screen the person.”

Most bags not checked

        With regard to bomb detection, most bags on domestic flights are not checked for explosives. Ms. Garvey said that not all of the nation's 20 Category X airports, those deemed at the highest risk for attack, have the million-dollar machines, much less Cincinnati, a Category B airport.

        But she said that federal authorities as well as airlines were “aggressively” seeking to put the machines in place at all the nation's large airports.

        The final version of the annual transportation appropriations bill has yet to reach Mr. Bush's desk. It was held up prior to the Sept. 11 attacks by a dispute over whether to allow Mexican trucks into the country.

        The bill is being reworked in committee, and could include funding for new machines nationwide, although which airports could get them is still unknown.

        “(Cincinnati) is a great candidate for EDS (explosive detection system),” said Ms. Garvey, who said local airport and airline officials lobbied for such machines during her visit. “We will deploy every machine that is produced. The big challenge right now is getting a production line that is aggressive enough to meet the kind of challenges we are now facing.”

        Ms. Garvey also said that FAA officials were “aggressively monitoring” airlines to ensure they were using the machines that are in place properly.

        After the attacks, the agency required that airlines use their machines continuously, not just when a suspicious bag is spotted.

        Earlier this month, the transportation department's inspector general reported that many airlines were not doing this.

America Strikes Back page

City's Olympic flame doused
Group wants to put submarine on riverfront
Three officers testify against Caton
Closing arguments Monday in Jorg case
Once-fired officer to be promoted
Profiling lawsuit could play key role
Fuller rewrites campaign rules
Poll puts Luken ahead; Fuller gains over week
Council hopefuls line war chests
United Way beats the buzzer
Expert: Cincinnati area prepared
FAA chief says airport needs luggage scanners
Annexation law's fate up to voters
Drug task force wants raise
Levies in western suburbs reflect growth
Local Digest
Loveland superintendent to resign
McNUTT: Renovating Miami's ballpark
West Chester promotes police levy
Police, teens share viewpoints
Rape victim's word is forgive
SAMPLES: Have paint, will join protest
Charges could hurt candidate in Boone Co.
Erlanger woman 'hero'
Talk focuses on anthrax prevention
Truck drivers may face new rules
Elk herd makes itself at home
Judicial center built for growth
Kentucky Digest
Kentucky Education Notes
Loans, grants punctuate Kentuckian's swearing-in
No deal on smoking bill
Patton juggles finances
Patton looks at pollution allowances
Rogers' Somerset office reopens