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PURPOSE

BACKGROUND

WITNESSES

The purpose of this hearing is to examine the current status of efforts to improve airport security.

The President signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act on November 19, 2001. This legislation removed responsibility for aviation security from the FAA and established the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), within the Department of Transportation, to handle all transportation security matters including aviation security. In the 10 months since the law was passed, a number of issues have arisen that will be the subject of the hearing.

Major Issues:

• Deadline for hiring a Federal screener workforce: The Aviation and Transportation Security Act requires that all passenger screening be conducted by Federal employees by November 19, 2002. As of September 10, the TSA has deployed Federal screeners to 93 airports and has hired nearly 32,000 passenger screeners, but only about half that number are actually on the payroll. TSA believes that if given enough resources and operational flexibility, it will meet the deadline. If TSA fails to meet the November 19th deadline, TSA may have to limit the number of open checkpoints to those that it can staff. This would result in longer passenger queues. However, TSA believes it has the legal authority to continue to use private sector screening companies if necessary to prevent longer passenger queues.
• Deadline for screening all checked baggage with explosive detection systems: The Aviation and Transportation Security Act requires the TSA to deploy enough explosive detection systems by the end of this year to screen all checked baggage. TSA has said this will require about 1,100 bulk detection machines, such as the CTX or L3, and about 5,000 trace detection machines. There are now 215 bomb detection machines operating at airports. Some airports have complained that they will not be able to reconstruct their terminals by the end of the year to accommodate all the large bulk detection machines. TSA acknowledges that engineering problems will cause as many as 35 airports to miss the December 31st deadline. Although the law provides flexibility in such cases, some airports are seeking an extension of the deadline. TSA may grant individual waivers to airports that can't meet the deadline (although the law does not require waivers) and recommends that intensive hand searches and bomb-sniffing dogs be used until bomb detection machines are installed. So far, TSA has hired 440 of the 22,000 checked baggage screeners it says it will need. The Department of Transportation Inspector General estimates that TSA will need 27,000 baggage screeners to fulfill its mandate.
• Complaints about the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) hiring practices: The TSA seems to hire ex-law enforcement officers for key positions. While they have vast experience in security matters, they often have little experience with the complexities of managing an efficient airport and airline operation. Additionally, many experienced screeners who have passed the new stricter requirements have not been chosen to fill management level positions. Once turned down for the higher-level position, applicants have not been notified whether they will have screener jobs with the TSA. Also, those who have not passed the evaluation have had difficulty obtaining information from TSA on why they failed and how or if they can apply again.
• Other issues that may arise are those relating to airport and airline security and implementing the provisions of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, including the Trusted Traveler Program, arming pilots, cargo security, general aviation security and TSA budgetary issues.