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Feds to meet airport screener deadline
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal screeners will take over security checkpoints in all U.S. commercial airports by Tuesday's congressionally mandated deadline, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said Monday. A force of 44,000 people from the Transportation Security Administration will be in place in more than 420 airports on Tuesday morning. "The American can-do spirit always prevails, and we did it here as well," Mineta said, noting that his agency had beaten expectations to meet the deadline. "From top to bottom, the entire organization has this spirit." Mineta said the new passenger screeners are being held to a higher standard in training and customer service. The new federal employees have received more than 100 hours of training -- 40 hours in class and 60 hours on the job -- compared with the four or five hours screeners typically received before the security revamp. The new screeners also must have a high school diploma and pass a series of background checks. A requirement that the screeners be U.S. citizens has been challenged in court. In addition, the new screeners are better paid than their privately employed counterparts were, a move that could help reduce turnover. Many experts said this emphasis on training, professionalism and career advancement could pay off. "If the government fulfills its obligation and supervises those screeners, then I think it will be better than it was before," security expert Charles Slepian told Reuters. Delays with second goalOther experts said the occasional conflict between tight security and passenger convenience should smooth out as the federal screeners become more experienced. "After a couple of years, this will prove to be the best model," Kevin Mitchell of the Business Travel Coalition, a group that represents corporate travel managers, told Reuters. But the system is not foolproof: Last week, two people slipped past security at Florida's Miami International Airport, prompting the evacuation of about 2,000 people from concourses there. Two screeners are on paid leave as the Transportation Security Administration investigates. The push to improve airport security came in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Congress approved more than $6 billion to fund the Transportation Security Administration, which has concentrated on federalizing the airport security force and on screening all checked luggage for explosives. The second goal, however, has been more difficult to implement, and the agency is not expected to meet the December 31 deadline for installing bag-screening equipment in all U.S. airports. Federal officials and airport chiefs have said as many as 35 airports will not be in compliance in time because of logistics and cost, according to Reuters. Congress is considering a one-year extension for some airports to meet that deadline. Mineta said interim solutions should be in place by December 31 at the handful of large airports that are not expected to have permanent baggage screening measures by then. "These interim solutions may make airport lobbies a bit more crowded, less elegant, more labor-intensive," he said, "but we will screen bags in an effective manner, in a secure manner and without unreasonable delays." CNN Correspondent Patty Davis contributed to this report. Reuters contributed to this report.
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