WASHINGTON (AP) The House passed aviation security legislation yesterday after rejecting a Senate version that would have turned airport screening operations over to federal employees. The vote was a major victory for the White House and its Republican allies.

The bill, which takes steps to make airplanes and airports safer from attack, passed 286-139.

It followed minutes after a crucial 218-214 vote to defeat the Senate-passed, Democratic-backed alternative. The Republican-backed bill would allow screening to be contracted out to private employers.

"The American people deserve tough security standards and the House plan delivers," President Bush said in a statement. "I urge the House and Senate to work together to send a strong and effective bill to my desk."

The House action could delay for weeks enacting a wide-ranging package of new security measures aimed at restoring Americans" confidence in flying after terrorists hijacked four airliners Sept. 11 and turned them into weapons of mass destruction. Lawmakers now face the task of trying to find a compromise with the Senate, which voted 100-0 three weeks ago to pass the measure making screeners federal employees.

"My greatest fear is that if it goes to a conference, it never comes out," House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt said earlier yesterday.