"Obtaining information on passengers traveling within the United States also could be helpful to law enforcement." - Robert Bonner Remember, as far as Big Brother is concerned, the end justifies the means.... This scheme would be greatly facilitated by Gephardt & Ellison's proposed ID card/internal passport. Peter Trei ----------------------------------- http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011002/us/attacks_customs_2.html Tuesday October 2 3:33 AM ET Customs Wants Lists of Passengers By JEANNINE AVERSA, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Airlines should be required to turn over their advance lists of passengers to screen for possible terrorists, the new Customs Service commissioner says. Robert Bonner, in an interview with The Associated Press, said Monday he first wants the passenger information for all international flights headed for the United States. Then, he said, Congress should consider requiring that such information be turned over for domestic flights as well. The Customs Service has access to about 85 percent of international flight passenger information under a voluntary program with the airlines. It has no information on domestic flights. ``I believe that it would be extremely valuable if there is a requirement that the airlines provide that information to Customs, to feed it into our data base and thereby identify potential terrorists or other suspects who make an attempt to enter the U.S.,'' Bonner said. [...] On air travel, the agency has received information voluntarily from airlines since 1988 on international air passengers, including names, birth dates, nationality and travel document numbers. The information is collected at the time of departure and transmitted to Customs while flights are en route to the United States. Ninety-five air carriers and two governments - Australia's and New Zealand's - transmit data on international soon-to-arrive air passengers to a Customs facility in Virginia. Air carriers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan and Egypt are among those that don't participate, Customs spokesman Dennis Murphy said. To force airlines to give international passenger information to Customs may require congressional action. ``For a foreign airline that would be unwilling to provide the information, we should simply deny the right to land in the United States,'' Bonner suggested. [...] Obtaining information on passengers traveling within the United States also could be helpful to law enforcement, he said.