GOP Report Considers TSA a “Backward Looking Dinosaur”
By Ellen Cannon
A scathing twenty-four page report was issued this week by the majority staff of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Oversight and Government Committee. The highly negative report of the TSA is titled, “A Decade Later: A Call for TSA Reform”. The TSA plays a critical role in overseeing security at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports. However, the chair of the committee Rep. John Mica (R-FLA) found the TSA to be administratively incompetent. The House committee stated that the “TSA practices theatrics instead of genuine terror prevention, calling it a “backwards looking dinosaur that seeks employees through pizza box advertising and struggles to detect actual terrorist threats.” The report called the TSA an “enormous, inflexible, and distracted bureaucracy, which is more effective in violating the rights of citizens than in finding those who might cause actual harm.” House Republicans on the joint majority committee called for drastic revamping of the agency.(www.nbcchicago.com 11/17/11)
According to Rep. John Mica, Chairmen of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, “the TSA has lost its way. It has strayed from its security mission and mushroomed into a top-heavy bureaucracy that includes 3,986 headquarters staff, making an average of $103,852 per year on average and 9,656 administrators in the field. In a letter to E. Lynn Hampton, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Rep. Mica expressed his frustration with the TSA. He wrote, “As you know, I was one of the authors of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) that created the TSA. When the TSA was established, it was never envisioned that it would become a huge, unwieldy bureaucracy which was soon to grow to 67,000 employees. As the TSA has grown larger, more impersonal, and administratively top-heavy, I believe it is important that airports across the country consider utilizing the opt-out provision provided by law.” The “opt-out” provision Rep. Mica is referring to permits aviation authorities to drop the TSA screening and replace it with certified private transportation security programs provided under the original transportation security law. (Letter written by Rep. Mica, 11/5/10)
At a press conference this week held at Reagan National Airport, Rep. Mica was joined by Rep. Paul Broun,(R-GA) Chairmen of the Science Committee’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight and a member of the Homeland Security Committee. Rep. Broun said, “That a terrorist bomb could be put aboard an airliner “very easily” at his home airport in Atlanta. “ (www.washingtonpost.com11/16/11) He underscored that since 2001 there have been more than 25,000 security breaches. The Georgian republican went on to say that, “The agency as a whole has been a colossal disappointment. The only thing it has been successful at is violating the rights of the American people. Instead of worrying about ‘political correctness, TSA should be putting our resources into intelligence and technologies that could be more effective in catching highly elusive and dangerous terrorists.” ( Paul Scicchitano www.newsmax.com11/17/11)
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) said the agency “invests in tomorrow’s technology to fight yesterday’s threats, and wastes billions of taxpayer dollars in the process”.
Emphasizing what it views as the poor performance of the TSA the report stated, “The US.has avoided another successful terrorist attack primarily through the actions of passengers and crew, foreign intelligence agencies, and Customs and Border Protection, along with good luck. These factors have combined to drastically lower the risk of hijacking from a terrorist with a gun or a knife.”(Phil Rogers, www.nbcchicago.com11/17/11)
The joint committee report lists 11 proposals for the revamping of the TSA. Among them are: (1) Act with greater independence from the Department of Homeland Security bureaucracy; (2) Act as a federal regulator to analyze intelligence, set security standards, and procedures based on risk, and audit and enforce passenger and baggage screening; (3) Expand and revise the Screening Partnership Program so more airport authorities can delegate screening to private contractors under federal supervision; (4) Dramatically reduce TSA administrative personnel; (5) Redeploy TSA workers to respond better to international threats to the U.S. transportation network; (6) Require that screening of all passengers and baggage on inbound flights is equivalent to U.S. domestic screening standards; (7) Develop an expedited screening program with positive identification trusted passengers and crew members; (8) Enlist qualified outside organization to conduct a comprehensive, independent study of TSA’s management, operations, and technical capabilities, and make recommendations to increase the agency’s effectiveness.(www.newsmax.com11/17/11)
TSA spokesman Greg Soule denounced the report. He said, “At a time when our country’s aviation system is safer, stronger, and more secure than it was 10 years ago, this report is an unfortunate disservice to the dedicated men and women of TSA who are on the front lines every day protecting the traveling public. TSA has developed a highly trained federal workforce that has safely screened over 5 billion passengers and established a multilayered security system reaching from curb to cockpit.” (www.washingtonpost.com11/16/11)
A recent U.S. Travel Association Survey reveals that travelers are positively aware of improvements made by the TSA but do remain frustrated on critical security issues. Last week the survey results were announced by U.S. Travel’s President and CEO Roger Dow at a press conference at Washington Reagan National Airport. The data shows, “four of the top traveler frustrations relate to the checkpoint process, though a majority of travelers are supportive of recent initiatives to improve traveler facilitation by the TSA. The majority of travelers support the Pre Check Program, the elimination of pat downs for children, software upgrades that replace personal body images with a generic body image and a decision to phase out the removal of shoes.
Mr. Dow stated, “While recognizing the significant steps TSA has taken to improve security screening, the process still remains inefficient and frustrating for millions of Americans.”
The four key traveler frustrations revealed by the latest survey data include: (1) people bringing on too many carry-on bags through the security checkpoint; (2) the wait time to clear the checkpoint; (3) having to remove shoes, belts, and jackets at the TSA checkpoint; (4) TSA employees who are not friendly.
U.S. Travel suggested three recommendations: (1) Airlines must allow more opportunities in PreCheck and not discriminate against consumers who are not members of their loyalty programs; (2) airlines must work with TSA and the travel industry to decrease the number of carry-on bags going through passenger checkpoints, which more than 70 percent of travelers listed as their top frustration; and (3) TSA must continue to focus on traveler facilitation because travelers are more willing to fly when the hassle is reduced.(www.ustravel.org11/16/11)
Airport security of all kinds as well as America discussing where the balance is between security and privacy will continue to be debated and discussed in Congress, board rooms, and with our own families.
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