WASHINGTON (AP) – A bill intended to speed the development of systems to protect airliners against shoulder-fired missiles was passed by the House 423-0 on Thursday.

The bipartisan bill, which is largely symbolic, would require the Federal Aviation Administration to expedite approval of missile defense systems. It also encourages President Bush to continue efforts to reduce the number of the light but lethal missiles around the world, through treaties, agreements and buyback programs.

The chairman of the House Transportation Committee’s aviation panel, Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., co-sponsored the bill. Mica called it an interim measure until the United States develops defense systems that can be used on civilian airliners.

Military planes already use countermeasures, but they can’t be used on commercial airliners because they require too much maintenance and too often are deployed mistakenly.

“We cannot afford to wait until the day after a catastrophe to begin to act,” Mica said during debate on the bill on Wednesday.

The portable heat-seeking rockets can hit low-flying aircraft within three miles.

Concerns about terrorists using lightweight rocket launchers to take down commercial airliners increased in November 2002 after an unsuccessful attack on a chartered Israeli jet in Mombassa, Kenya.

The Air Transport Association, which represents major airlines, has said that the cost of outfitting the commercial aviation fleet – about 6,800 planes – with missile defenses would be between $50 billion and $100 billion over 20 years.

The Homeland Security Department selected three companies in January to determine whether technology used by the military could be adapted for civilian aircraft.

The department said it would select one of the three contractors to conduct more rigorous testing, but hasn’t done so yet.

Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, also a bill co-sponsor, said the FAA’s certification process usually takes 3-5 years.

The Senate has not yet considered legislation.

—

On the Net:

Transportation Security Administration: http://www.tsa.gov

Homeland Security Department: http://www.dhs.gov

AP-ES-07-22-04 1714EDT