TSA Airport Security: Congress Members Blast Agency

WASHINGTON -- House members of both parties on Monday teed off against the agency in charge of airport and port anti-terrorist screening, saying it uses ineffective tactics, wastes money on faulty equipment and treats travelers rudely.

"We're not cattle," said Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., adding that `barking orders" undermines the good work of the Transportation Security Administration.

TSA officials told a hearing that airport screening is getting better for U.S. travelers, because the agency is moving away from a one-size-fits-all system. Instead, the TSA is expanding programs to identify travelers posing a risk, while allowing those who provide personal information in advance to go through a fast line.

A report by the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative agency, agreed with lawmakers that several key programs of the TSA have been flawed.

Stephen Lord, director of the GAO's homeland security program, offered the investigators' assessment of the TSA at a joint hearing of the committees on Transportation and Infrastructure; and Oversight and Government Reform: The findings:

_TSA deployed its Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques program nationwide before determining whether it was valid to use behavior and appearance to reliably identify passengers posing a risk. It was not known whether any of those caught were terrorists. Rather, the program nabbed illegal aliens, drug offenders, those carrying fraudulent documents and people with outstanding warrants.

_While 640 full-body scanners were deployed to detect both liquids and metals, some of the units were not being used regularly, thereby decreasing benefits of machines that cost $250,000 each to buy and install.

_The Transportation Worker Identification Credential program used for 2.1 million workers at ports and on ships has been unable to provide reasonable assurance that only qualified individuals can acquire the card.

Christopher McLaughlin and Stephen Sadler, two TSA assistant administrators, emphasized that help is on the way, but spent most of the hearing fending off lawmakers' angry comments.

McLaughlin said TSA is working on easing the checkpoint experience for children and senior citizens, including ending a requirement for them that shoes be removed and conducting less intrusive pat downs.

He said that the TSA Pre-Check system, the fast-lane screening program, has been expanded to a dozen airports and more than 500,000 passengers and received positive feedback. He said any U.S. citizen in the Customs and Border Protection's trusted traveler programs will qualify for streamlined screening when flying from 14 international locations.

None of this satisfied the committee members.

Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said TSA wasted millions of taxpayer dollars developing equipment that didn't work, leaving in its wake "a dire picture of ineffectiveness."

Rep. Tom Petri, R-Wis., said TSA treated traveling Americans "like prisoners."

The chairman of the Transportation Committee, Republican John Mica of Florida, said faulty equipment was hauled away from a storage site "as our investigators were appearing on the scene."

And Issa read comments from Americans who accepted his Internet invitation to write about their experiences on the committee's Facebook site.

A Marine in dress blues said he was forced to remove his trousers because his shirt stays spooked a screener. A disabled person complained about constant groping. So did a traveler with a medical device that can't go through machines generating radiation. And a 61-year-old traveler who had an artificial leg since age 4 gave up traveling, tired of having her breast checked rather than her leg.

Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Memphis, said screeners went through all the items of a woman known as one of the richest in his town.

He said it should have been obvious from her expensive possessions that "this woman wants to live."

Comments

[JamesMadison1975]

09:27 AM on 04/27/2012

Force TSA to hire smart people with college degree or military service.

[Anc1entMar1ner]

04:08 PM on 04/05/2012

Tell the administration to take away TSA's funding here: http://wh.gov/RPx

[dbrett480]

05:30 PM on 04/01/2012

No matter what the TSA does, no one will be happy. If they beef up security, the civil libertarians complain. If they cut back security, people say they are ineffectual. In the mean time, Congressmen and women chime in to make themselves look good.

[Chollis]

08:15 PM on 03/28/2012

My hunch is that these hearings will do nothing substantive to change the TSA debacle. It needs to be scrapped and we need to go back to pre 9/11 screening. I'd take my chances with my fellow passengers any day...

[hqueen]

07:13 PM on 03/28/2012

I have NEVER in my life been embarrassed of the United States until today. Today my eyes were opened to the fact that this is not the place I thought it was. I was born and raised here, and raised to believe that you take care of your family especially your elders.
I took my sweet 85 yr old aunt to the airport to catch a plane. I wasn't flying, just got a special pass to accompany her to the gate so she wouldn't be alone until her plane came.
I guess they singled us out for special treatment because we look like terrorists. How does an 85 year old lady in a wheelchair look like a danger in any way? I'm a 40 year old grandma in a flowery shirt. And yet there were lots of other people who just walked right on through. When I asked why I got a lot of ugly attitude with the threat of they can take me to a private area if I had a problem; like I did something wrong by asking that question. I was treated like a criminal. I was asked to lift my shirt in front of everyone in the line. And all those people just stood there and watched.
The TSA is the single most disgusting thing the government has ever inflicted on the American people. I'm seriously considering moving out of this country.

[JamesMadison1975]

12:23 PM on 04/27/2012

Go ahead! I'll stay and fight

[kfdan]

08:24 PM on 03/27/2012

Why this post was not listed just goes to show you Huffpo has it's problems ... here goes again. TSA is a part of HomeLand Security ... that draconian organization created during Bush Jr. term just after 9/11. Few if any legislators read the HomeLand Security Act when it was presented for approval as it was something like 3,000 pages in length and legislators are not really prone to doing their own homework anyway. Those who have gone through that act since then, note that it was long in preparation and detailed ... none of it's authors (as far as I can guess ...there must have been many over the years it was being prepared) have been called to account for just how and by whom this legislation was developed.

[signgrrl]

11:21 AM on 03/30/2012

''funny'' how quickly after 9/11 such a lengthy, involved document was written and ready to go . . . . . almost like ''someone'' knew it was coming. funny, that.

[kfdan]

11:48 PM on 03/31/2012

Yep ... I'd say you've got a red flag here for sure! I do recall legislators complaining about not having enough time to go through the Home Security Act when it came up for votes. It certainly was a power play by the neo-cons and those who want a fascist security system government so deeply entrenched that freedom just becomes a word.

[kfdan]

08:08 PM on 03/27/2012

This elderly woman seems quite honest and straight forward. If she says TSA stripped searched her then, TSA stripped searched her. That organization can not be trusted to tell the truth in such matters!

[kfdan]

07:55 PM on 03/27/2012

TSA is a prime example of the train reck called 'HomeLand Security' ... this draconian organization needs to be dismantled. Other nations have effective security measures on their trains and planes and none ... other than outright fascist governments ... compare to the rude and abusive TSA. It kind of reminds me of the type of treatment one got in Moscow back in the day. We need to question the need for it's mother organization as well.

[james c tucker sr]

06:52 PM on 03/27/2012

yes my wife found out the hard waythis fact.two weeks ago she went security at dtw airport and was pulled out by tsa and arrested for having her stun gun without a battery in it and none with her.she was escorted like a criminal thru the airoprt,then was taken to the local police station in romolus mich and booked and thrown in jail.she was told it is against the law in michigan,she has carried this stun gun many times without a word ever being said.she is 61 years old and has severe athma and in fact had to use her inhaler in jail as she had and attack.noow we have received a letter from the romolus police that they refuse to drop the charges.she has to appear in court .that way they can get money from the court costs and fine her and she will have a record for a year.this is so crasy,we admit she broke the law by not knowing it,but lets get real here she is 61 years old has 10 grandchildren and no record ever.we have been paying ever since 9/11 and they continue to treat us as if we as americans are the criminals here.this is so wrong,help.

[mubmub1]

05:25 AM on 04/06/2012

Oh, I didn't realize she had 10 grandchildren, so she must be totally innocent. Let's let her go. You're an idiot.

[ameriki00]

02:44 PM on 03/27/2012

Trained dogs would be cheaper.

[booandpoobear]

01:38 PM on 03/27/2012

Maybe instead of TSA it should be the SS, think about it. Its there way or no way....

[kfdan]

07:59 PM on 03/27/2012

Homeland Security is a rough translation of SS and provides similar services to the state.

[esotericus01]

11:53 AM on 03/27/2012

"Instead, the TSA is expanding programs to identify travelers posing a risk..." -- I guess we're reverting back to racial and ethnic profiling now... what an idea.

[larueskee]

10:56 AM on 03/27/2012

If you want to cut government regulation and spending TSA and Homeland security might be a good place to start.

[doru]

10:07 AM on 03/27/2012

Pretty obvious by now the TSA is designed to serve and line the pockets of insiders
and not the American public.

[Edward U Huguenin]

09:42 AM on 03/27/2012

I will not fly.