Iowa delegation split over airport security issue

Iowa’s congressional delegation will be split, but not along party lines, when the U-S House votes on an airline security bill tonight. Most Republicans want federal oversight, but balk at the idea of having front-line workers at airport checkpoints be federal employees. They say civil service rules would make it hard to quickly fire security workers who make mistakes. Democrats and a few republicans say everyone who works airport security should be a federal worker so responsibility for the operation will be clear. Iowa Congressman Tom Latham will vote with most other republicans, saying they should follow the model of countries that’ve use a mix of federal and private employees.But republican Congressmen Greg Ganske and Jim Leach have both supported the idea of having all airport security handled by federal workers, and Iowa’s lone democrat Congressman, Leonard Boswell, will vote to federalize the entire system. Congressman Jim Nussle, a republican, will not announce beforehand how he’ll vote tonight. Latham says having government supervisors oversee private sector security firms works in European countries. He says whatever happens, needs to happen quickly.