Airport Workers Now Subject To Scrutiny

If you work at an airport, expect to have your name checked against a combined list of terror suspects, just like the passengers. That's part of the new intelligence bill passed by Congress last week. That process could begin in as little as six months.

As you can imagine, this is something of a controversial measure.

"To expand the use of something that’s already so error-prone is shocking," said attorney Marcia Hofmann, who works for the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington.

She points to the mistakes that caused Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and thousands of others ongoing problems as they've tried to board commercial flights because their names are close to those on the terror watch lists.

But supporters say this adds another -- much needed -- layer of security for the flying public.

The bill says people must be screened "before being certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration."

"We’re not sure exactly what that means," said FAA spokeswoman Rebecca Trexler.

We'll soon find out.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.tsa.gov