The Senate will move forward with a proposal from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that would allow public officials to receive special treatment when going through airport security, Politico reports.
In Cruz’s amendment, public officials who would receive special treatment include federal judges, members of Congress and Cabinet members who have been the “subject of a threat.” It also would extend to the official’s family members and some staff members if they are traveling with the designated official who has been threatened.
If approved, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) would provide security escorts at commercial airports without any “imposition of costs or other fees.” Transportation officials told Politico that a previous version of the amendment would be a burden to agencies that are already struggling.
Although the amendment and bill have more steps before becoming law, Cruz celebrated the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization bill being marked up at a hearing Thursday. He did not address the amendment specifically but spoke to the issues facing the FAA.
“It has been a long road with ‘delays’ and a little bit of ‘turbulence,’ but I am glad we have reached a compromise and are marking up this bill,” Cruz said before the Senate Commerce Committee.
Cruz said the bill comes at a time when challenges facing the aviation industry have “been acutely clear.” He noted the recent Alaska Airlines incident where a door panel blew off mid-flight and an increase in near-misses of planes on runways.
The FAA ordered the grounding of Boeing Max 9 planes after the incident earlier this year and has opened an investigation into safety which has raised questions of procedures in the past for both the manufacturing company and the federal agency.
“This bipartisan bill will help ensure the FAA can improve at its core mission of keeping the flying public safe,” Cruz said in an emailed statement. “With the aviation industry facing serious challenges, this legislation charts a course to address many of them while also modernizing and transforming the FAA’s operations.”
The portion of the bill that would allow public figures to have a security escort follows a highly publicized incident in February 2021, when Cruz flew to Cancun, Mexico, while millions of people in Texas were stranded in freezing temperatures without power or running water.
Photos of Cruz at a Houston airport with his family on the way to their vacation went viral and drew outrage from people who said he should remain in his state and address the issue.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) reportedly warned about the implications of the measure, saying it could set a “very dangerous precedent to exempt a class of people from security processes that are essential for our national security,” reports Politico.
This story was updated at 9:38 p.m.