FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Leslie Phillips (Lieberman) 224-0384
May 19, 2011
E.R. Anderson (Collins) 224-4751
Andrea Helling (Tester) 228-0371
Brian Weiss (Feinstein) 224-9629
RESOLUTION TO DETER TERRORIST TRAVEL
BY SHARING AIRLINE PASSENGERS' NAMES
CLEARS SENATE
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate has cleared a resolution emphasizing the
importance of sharing airline passengers' names with other countries to
deter terrorist travel, sending a message of disapproval of European Union
(EU) efforts to weaken an existing data-sharing agreement with the U.S.
Introduced by Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairmen
Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., and Ranking Members Susan Collins, R-Me., and
co-sponsored by Senators Dianne Feinstein, D-Ca., and Jon Tester, D-Mont.,
the resolution stresses the value of sharing Passenger Name Recognition
(PNR) data to pre-screen international travelers and inform terror
investigations. PNR data has been an instrumental part of our strategy to
keep terrorists from boarding planes and contributed to the arrests of
Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomber, and David Headley, a planner of the
Mumbai attack.
Lieberman said: "The botched Christmas Day attack in 2009 and the failed
efforts last year to blow up planes with bombs loaded on as cargo remind us
that terrorists still want to use airplanes as weapons of mass destruction
against us. Sharing passenger names is an important part of our layered
defenses against terrorism and is an effective way to keep terrorists off
planes. PNR data has contributed to the arrests of at least two terrorists
since the current agreement with the EU was signed. We simply cannot accept
changes to the agreement that could limit our ability to identify and arrest
terrorists or potential terrorists in the future."
Collins said: "Passenger Name Record data is an important tool
in the fight against terrorism as it assists security personnel in
identifying possible threats, before they arrive in our country. This
sharing of passenger information from inbound international flights is a
crucial component of our layered approach to homeland security.
"This resolution recognizes the key role that PNR data have played in
disrupting terrorist travel and in terrorism investigations, including their
use to identify and arrest Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad and David
Headley, coconspirator of the 2008 Mumbai Terrorist attack. I urge the
Department of Homeland Security and the European Union to continue to use
the PNR data agreement in place, as previously negotiated and in effect
until July 2014, to identify and thwart those seeking to do our country
harm."
Tester said: "The best security happens when those tasked with protecting
this country have the best information available. This existing information
partnership with our allies is essential for our national security, and any
attempts to change that agreement is a non-starter for me."
Feinstein said: "The collection and sharing of Passenger Name Record data
have proven to be an effective tool in the U.S. government's efforts to
successfully identify would-be terrorists and thwart their plans. Any
weakening of the European Union-United States PNR agreement would undermine
the progress we have made to keep our country safe."
Senate passage of the resolution comes as the EU unilaterally reopened
negotiations on an agreement it signed with the U.S. in 2007 to PNR data.
The agreement was intended to expire in 2014.
Under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, airlines are required to
provide PNR information on all flights. Customs and Border Protection (CPB)
uses the data to pre-screen international flights starting 72 hours before
their scheduled departure times. Data collected from the airlines' PNR
systems are compared to terrorist watch lists and criminal and immigration
databases to make sure known terrorists do not board airplanes bound for the
U.S.
Last September, the European Commission (EC) said its future PNR
agreements would include restrictions on the means and frequency of data
sharing, limitations on how long data could be stored, and requirements that
EU citizens be given administrative and judicial redress by other countries.
A November 4, 2010, Washington Post editorial concluded that the European
Parliament's renegotiation proposal was "distressing" and the "burden should
be on the European Parliament to demonstrate why amorphous anxieties about
privacy should trump" concerns about terrorist attacks against our aviation
system.
The Senate resolution, S.Res.174, is available here
<http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id
=ff927260-aaf7-4a4a-bf51-332e886fd5c7> .
The House has introduced a similar resolution.
-30-
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