[blackjackblax]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A bill to enact the 9/11 Commission recommendations -- the first bill passed by the new Democratic-led House of Representatives -- will cost $21 billion over five years if enacted into law, congressional budget officials said Friday.

The House passed the bill January 9 during its heralded "first 100 hours" of the new Congress. The Senate has not yet voted on the measure.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill would also allow the Transportation Security Administration to collect nearly $1.3 billion in fees from airline passengers. The money would be spent for airport security improvements.

Rep. Peter King, R-New York., the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, said the report validated his opposition to the bill.

"This bill was rushed to the floor without the Democratic leadership giving us any indication of its massive cost -- and now we know why," King said in a written statement. "Had we known [the cost] before the bill was brought to the floor, it would have been a different story."

Democrats said the bill was needed to fulfill the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

The bill requires the federal government to screen cargo on passenger aircraft, authorize grants to improve police and fire communications, require shipping cargo containers to be scanned before entering the United States and take numerous other steps to improve security.
9/11 security could cost $21 billion - CNN.com I haven't read too much into this bill, but it just strikes me as odd that Rep. Peter King is complaining about how expensive it is going to be. How many billions have we spent on the Iraqi war and now 21 billion over 5 years is too much to increase homeland security? I think the bill does some good things regarding screening cargo and monitoring what is coming into the US.

I don't like the part about the TSA collecting 1.3 billion from passengers. That kinda sucks. Airline tickets are already expensive. If the airlines are part of the Homeland Security plan they should probably be able to pay for that with federal funds.

I'm not really all that sure what else is involved with "take numerous other steps to improve security. " I'm not sold on this bill yet. Anybody have any insight or a list of the "other" stuff.

[JNancy46]

That money was obtained from the Iraqis
http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/econ...lliburton.html