Source: AP Author: 02/11/2009
Subject Concerned: Government Aircrew Airlines
The Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association spent US$40,000 in the fourth quarter to lobby on using biometric technology for airport security and other issues, according to a recent disclosure report.
The union said it lobbied on a bill that would have ordered the Homeland Security Department to study how airports could use biometric measurements - examples include fingerprints and eye scans - to identify airport employees who can enter secure areas.
The bill was approved by the House in June but never got out of committee in the Senate.
The union also lobbied on other safety issues and on aviation infrastructure legislation, according to the report filed on Jan. 20 with the House clerk's office.
Besides Congress, the pilots' union lobbied the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the departments of Transportation and Homeland Security in the October-December period.