Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

palm beach international airport_pbiadotcom 525x420
palm beach international airport_pbiadotcom 525x420

Florida Government & Politics

Rick Scott Brings Back Proposal to Have TSA Take Temperatures of Airline Passengers

Back in September, Scott and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced the “Fly Safe and Healthy Act” which would have temperature checks as part of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screenings.

This week, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., brought back his proposal to have air travelers take temperature tests before flying.

Back in September, Scott and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced the “Fly Safe and Healthy Act” which would have temperature checks as part of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screenings.

Scott brought back the proposal on Monday creating a 120-pilot program for the TSA to perform temperature checks. Three months after the pilot program is concluded, the TSA would have a more permanent procedure in place for taking temperatures.

On Wednesday, Scott weighed in on why he brought the bill back.

“Florida is a huge tourism state, and thousands of families rely on the success of the industry. To get our economy back on track and fully re-opened, Americans need to trust that they can travel safely. The Fly Safe and Healthy Act will enable a temperature check pilot program to ensure passengers with a fever don’t board a plane and put other passengers and airline employees at risk. It also requires airlines to work with a customer to reschedule or cancel their flight if they’re experiencing a fever, and establishes consumer protections to guard against unfair pricing tactics. I’ve been calling for temperature checks for passengers of mass travel since the beginning of the pandemic as a common-sense measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and I urge my colleagues to pass this bipartisan bill immediately,” Scott said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten the health and safety of all Americans. To help protect passengers and workers in the aviation system and to prepare the United States to quickly address future public health risks, Senator Scott and I are introducing the Fly Safe and Healthy Act to conduct a temperature check screening program in airports. Implementing this technology is low-hanging fruit we should be taking advantage of to provide more health and safety measures for the flying public. A number of other countries have already begun taking this common-sense step and its time the United States joined them,” said Cantwell.

Scott’s proposal was sent to the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. So far, there is no companion measure over in the U.S. House.

 

Reach Kevin Derby at [email protected].

 

Author

  • Kevin Derby

    Originally from Jacksonville, Kevin Derby is a contributing writer for Florida Daily and covers politics across Florida.

    View all posts

Archives

Related Articles

Business / Economy News

Florida Senator Rick Scott introduced the United States Citrus Protection Act which prohibits the importation of commercially produced fresh citrus fruit from Communist China into the...

Political News

Today, Florida Senator Rick Scott joined Republican colleagues, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, to announce the introduction of the Make...

Political News

President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order to abolish the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). Below is an overview of recent votes of involving...

Political News

Florida, Senators Rick Scott and Ashley Moody announced the introduction of the Consolidating Aerospace Programs Efficiently at Canaveral (CAPE Canaveral) Act. This bill will relocate...

Advertisement
Florida Daily
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

HOW WE COLLECT E-MAIL INFORMATION:

If you sign up to subscribe to Florida Daily’s e-mail newsletter, you will provide us your e-mail address and name, voluntarily, and we will never obtain any of your contact information that you don’t voluntarily provide.

HOW WE USE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS IF YOU VOLUNTARILY PROVIDE IT TO US:

If you voluntarily provide us with your name and email address, we will use it to send you one email update per weekday. Your email address will not be given to any third parties.

YOUR CONTROLS:

You will have the option to unsubscribe to our E-mail update at anytime by clicking an unsubscribe link that will be provided in each E-Mail we send.