Led by a congressman who’s received tens of thousands of dollars in contributions from private contractors, a movement is afoot to dump employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and replace them with private airport screeners.

 

Republican Representative John Mica of Florida, the pending new chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, feels TSA has become a bloated, unresponsive bureaucracy, and says airports would be better served by private companies handling passenger screening.

 

Mica has received more than $80,000 in political contributions from companies that provide airport security. These contributors include Lockheed Martin Corp. Employees’ Political Action Committee ($36,500), Raytheon’s PAC ($33,500) and Firstline Transportation Security Inc.’s PAC ($4,500).

 

Federal law allows airports to opt for private screeners instead of TSA workers. Many passengers have grown frustrated with what they believe is intrusive searches by TSA, and Mica is hoping to feed off this frustration to shift airport passenger checkpoints into private hands. Even if this does happen, the private security companies will have to use the same screening equipment and follow the same screening procedures.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Airports Consider Congressman's Call to Ditch TSA (by Mike Schneider and Ray Henry, Associated Press)

Florida Airport Wants to Lose TSA Staff (by Hugh Collins, AOL News)

TSA Myth or Fact: Leaked Images, Handcuffed Hosts, Religious Garb, and More! (TSA Blog)