Ah ...TSA union members-what my senator has to say about YOU

[w8liftinglady]

See the center of the editorial

TSA must balance security with privacy protections
Published: Monday, November 29, 2010 12:32 PM CST
Kay Bailey Hutchison
U.S. senator

Thanksgiving marks the traditional start of the holiday travel season when millions of Americans from across the country will have firsthand experience with rigorous new security procedures that have been put in place by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The enhanced security consists of the use of Advanced Imaging Technology machines and aggressive pat down procedures as part of TSA’s risk-based and multi-layered security system. But these invasive new security procedures have also caused a groundswell of controversy from the traveling public because of the privacy concerns they raise.

During a recent oversight hearing, I expressed to the head of TSA, John Pistole, that there must be a way to improve the airport security screening process to address these privacy concerns and improve the security partnership between TSA and the traveling public.

Several recent incidents and reports from across the nation have shown a great need for a commonsense approach at screening checkpoints. Based on various press reports, passengers who ultimately decline to receive the new enhanced pat down procedures are potentially subject to detention at the airport, further investigation, and a significant fine.

Actions and policies like these defy logic, and they rightly raise Americans’ objections to government agencies trampling on personal privacy rights.

I was pleased to see TSA’s leadership recently acknowledge that it may need to adjust its new security procedures in order to find the proper balance between protecting our nation against real threats and safeguarding individual privacy. Even the President has agreed that TSA’s security mission must constantly evolve to assure the safety of the traveling public while being less intrusive to individual Americans.

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At the same Commerce Committee hearing where I pressed Administrator Pistole on these screening procedures, I raised another issue that I believe poses a threat to TSA’s ability to keep America safe: collective bargaining for TSA screeners.

All previous TSA Administrators have maintained the policy that allowing TSA screeners to join together and collectively bargain for pay would have a negative impact on the agency’s fundamental security mission. It is crucial that TSA maintain that existing policy.

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The TSA workforce must be able to react quickly to emerging threats like the one last Christmas when a terrorist bound from Amsterdam to Detroit attempted to ignite explosive material covertly sewn into his clothing.

In less than 12 hours, TSA was able to identify the new threat and institute new guidelines to combat changing terrorist tactics.

While federal law would prohibit screeners from striking, collective bargaining would insert a middle man in what should be a direct line of communication from threat assessment to those at the airport checkpoint.

Any form of work slowdown would be very dangerous. If TSA’s leadership does decide to allow for collective bargaining among its workforce, a very serious effort would be taken by Congress to prohibit implementation of this misguided decision.

Make no mistake, the mission of the Transportation Security Administration is crucial to the safety of our nation. Americans understand that we still face the grim reality of terrorist threats.

Ultimately, terrorists are going to continue to adapt their methods to try to circumvent our multi-layered system, and we look to TSA to stay ahead of those threats and to keep the public safe. TSA must fully utilize all the tools at its disposal and remain vigilant, agile, and alert while being mindful of the important freedoms it is trying to protect.



Kay Bailey Hutchison is the senior U.S. Senator from Texas and is the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

[emulatorloo]

1. HA HA - So if the TSA was unionized, they couldn't protect American?

These Republicans are pretty damned predictable, especially if they are named Kay Bailey Hutchison.

[w8liftinglady]

2. And SHE's one of our moderate ones...dang.