By Tracy Fugere
Fargo, ND – North Dakota Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad want an Aviation Security Bill pushed through the Senate to improve airport and airline safety.
Dorgan says the bill includes safety initiatives like--limiting access to ariplane cockpits, increased training for flight crews, increase in the number of federal marshalls on flights, increased security operations, and authorized background checks.
Dorgan says this is very important.
"It's important for North Dakota because air travel is very important to our state. And it's important for our country. We want people to know our President says it's tiem to go back to work. It's also time for us to take the steps necessary that we're trying to do in Congress to provide that extra measure of security on commercial air travel in this country. Again, we expect that piece of legislation to be done next Tuesday or Wednesday."
Conrad says both he and Dorgan feel comfortable flying right now. Conrad says he went through extensive security measures Friday morning at Reagan National.
"Byron left from Dallas and I left from Reagan National. They actually not only frisked me but asked me to take my shoes off and they the shoes through a machine. There were two armed guards there and nobody was arguing with it."