Lawmakers Urge TSA Rescind Burdensome Employee Screening Policy

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) and U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and John Thune (R-S.D.), sent a letter to Transportation Security Administrator (TSA) David Pekoske, urging the agency to rescind its Airport Security Program National Amendment (TSA-NA-23-02) issued earlier this year. The National Amendment requires airports to implement a costly and impractical employee screening policy without any financial support.

The TSA delayed its implementation by one year, but the lawmakers said the National Amendment remains highly challenging for small airports to implement, regardless of the timeline. 

“We appreciate your recent decision to delay the National Amendment’s implementation by one year. It is a step in the right direction, but we remain highly concerned over the long-term. The National Amendment places burdensome requirements upon small, rural airports and calls into question its implementation's feasibility, regardless of the modified timeline,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter also highlighted the onerous screening requirements mandated under the National Amendment, and stressed it goes go well beyond airports' current capabilities and budgets.

“While we share your commitment to advancing aviation security, the National Amendment goes well beyond the scope of our airports’ security programs and current capabilities. It would mandate redundant and onerous screenings, requiring our airports to recreate the individual screening process TSA screening officers are already trained for, have equipment for, have expertise in, and, most importantly, are already performing,” the lawmakers wrote.

“This Amendment also equates to an unfunded mandate. Airports in our states are estimating these requirements will cost over $1 million to develop, implement, and operate, putting unnecessary strain on their already-limited revenue sources,” the lawmakers wrote.  

“Given the outstanding challenges faced by our airports in implementing screening processes mandated under this National Amendment, we believe the TSA is better suited to implement aviation worker screening. We respectfully request the TSA provide long-term certainty by rescinding its National Amendment and retaining aviation worker screenings as the sole responsibility of the TSA,” the lawmakers concluded.

Click here to read the full letter.