While no one knows for sure what caused the crash of American Airlines flight 587, there is growing consensus that the plane was felled by a tragic accident rather than an act of terrorism.

That's hardly the point in Washington, D.C., where airport security is the hot topic again. (Airplane safety, on the other hand, is not scheduled to appear on the congressional roster anytime soon). While the country waits for legislation, the House and Senate are currently stuck in committee, bickering over the issue of federalizing airport workers. Tuesday, the President told Congress in no uncertain terms that he wants to see a compromise bill — and soon.

It's been a long and winding road for the airline security bill: Earlier this month the House passed a version (favored by the President) which differed on one important count from the bill passed in the Senate 100 to 0. The issue dividing the House and Senate? Federalizing airport workers. The Democrat-controlled Senate says it's a necessary move, that screening and hiring federal employees is the only way to ensure public safety. The GOP-dominated House disagrees, arguing that allowing private firms to hire their own workers is a far more efficient way to address safety concerns.

The House bill, passed earlier this month, provides for enhanced security on the ground and in the air, with provisions for new air marshals, more secure cockpit doors and a new influx of privately-hired, federally supervised airport security employees. The Senate version provides all those things — but would make security workers federal employees, not private employees supervised by federal workers.

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In the beginning

It was all going so smoothly in the middle of October, when the Senate unanimously approved a bill to federalize about 28,000 airport jobs in 142 of the nation?s largest airports. Beyond a push to federalize airport workers, the Senate measure mirrors the House plan; it provides the same funding for federal marshals on commercial flights and mandates more secure cockpit doors. Approving that combination of security guidelines, Senators say, is a critical move towards accountability, and, in turn, regaining the trust of a jittery flying public. Currently safety workers are hired by private firms and, critics say, are held to less than exacting standards.

Even after its unequivocal victory in the Senate, the bill had trouble across the Capitol, where House Republicans balked at a move they consider a boon to unions — and the Democratic Party. The Republican bill, sponsored by Rep. Don Young, took a big step away from total federal control. The GOP version maintains a commitment to sky marshals and to stricter employment screening of airport employees, but allows airports to either hire federal workers or hire security jobs out to private contractors. As the debate raged, Young was blunt in his opposition to the Senate version. "If people think there will be a change (if workers are federalized), they're smoking pot," he told reporters this week.