The TSA as we know it is dead

[Dale00]

Let's hope so.

The TSA as we know it is dead - here's why

If you don't believe the TSA is doomed after watching yesterday's House Aviation Subcommittee hearing, then you'll have to at least agree that the agency as we know can't continue to exist as it does.

For starters, TSA Administrator John Pistole refused to testify before the committee on the innocuous subject of "common sense" improvements to America's airport security, reportedly because the committee has no jurisdiction over his agency. (That's odd - I always thought Congress funded the federal government, but maybe I wasn't paying attention during government class.)

One by one, panelists took turns excoriating the agency charged with protecting America's transportation systems. It was plainly clear why Pistole was a no-show, and it had nothing to do with jurisdiction; it would have been an openly hostile crowd.

Charles Edwards, the Department of Homeland Security's acting inspector general, described the TSA as bureaucratic and dysfunctional. Stephen Lord of the Government Accountability Office, suggested the agency was ignoring the thousands of complaints from air travelers. And Kenneth Dunlap, who represented the International Air Transport Association, criticized the current TSA as expensive, inconsistent, and reactive....

But some went much further. Charlie Leocha of the Consumer Travel Alliance, who represented the interests of air travelers on the committee, said the TSA should not just be downsized, but also limited to protecting only air travel (something it currently isn't).

In his testimony, he described a future TSA that more closely resembled the pre-9/11 security system, which used magnetometers (metal detectors) as its primary screening method, had employees that dressed in non-threatening uniforms, and banned only the most dangerous weapons, such as guns and explosives, from aircraft.

The real security work would take place behind the scenes, prescreening every passenger with the help of technology and through coordination between intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and airlines.

"The mass screening of passengers would be replaced for the great majority of passengers
with a Trusted Traveler program that seamlessly checks passengers before they fly, while at the same time being respectful of their privacy," says Leocha. “Every passenger is already prescreened for every flight.”...

The TSA as it exists can't die soon enough.

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20121130115318-332179-the-tsa-as-we-know-it-is-dead-here-s-why?trk=eml-mktg-top12-r-1218-p6

 

[DA 20]

Hope they play Taps SOON.

 

[poopgiggle]

The real security work would take place behind the scenes, prescreening every passenger with the help of technology and through coordination between intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and airlines.

This is what people who study security have been asking for ever since the TSA was a thing.

 

[SMS]

So, I missed how the TSA is dead?

Since when do comments in a Congressional committe hearing ever become reality, LOL.

 

[Dale00]

So, I missed how the TSA is dead?

Since when do comments in a Congressional committe hearing ever become reality, LOL.

Hopefully they still have the power of the purse. I pray things haven't gotten to the point that Congress has no power to make changes in out of control agencies.

 

[Wheel Gun]

I guess I'm just confused. The writer thinks that this huge federal agency will go away because it's inept and disfunctional? Has he just appeared here on Earth recently? I'm sure all those things are true, but bureaucracies like this thrive and grow. They don't go away.

 

[criticalbass]

TSA went very quickly from "thousands standing around" to "travellers suffering abuses."

We need screening, but there's gotta be a better way. Simply dumping TSA is like saying to terrorists "hit me if you see an opening."

TSA is a classic example of "if you want it bad, that's how you'll get it." An internal restructuring, lots of training, lots of weeding, and probably a meaningless name change would all help. Obviously TSA needs a big inspirational leader, which we certainly do not have at this point. (can't find an icon for chicken noises, but bwak-bwak-bwak!)

Congressional hearings are seldom a pleasant experience, but to duck one is suicidal behavior.

Giving security back to the FAA with enough money to support it (which they never had) is one maybe viable alternative. There is still some good talent there, and they could pick the good (and there is lots of good) in the TSA.

I have flown quite a bit since TSA came into the picture, and have never had the slightest problem with them, though some of the things they have done as reported in the media look pretty bad. That said, most of the reported problems are two-sided.

 

[gaseous maximus]

Rarely, if ever does, a government entity die. After the initial fire works, and the recectionist at the front desk is canned, it's given a bigger budget, and perhaps, put under a different cabinet. Maybe even with a slight name change. To me, preapproval sounds a mite scary.

 

[poopgiggle]

We need screening, but there's gotta be a better way. Simply dumping TSA is like saying to terrorists "hit me if you see an opening."

They're talking about getting rid of the security theater and putting together a system that is more effective at stopping terrorists. I don't get how that's "hit me if you see an opening."

 

[SMS]

Hopefully they still have the power of the purse. I pray things haven't gotten to the point that Congress has no power to make changes in out of control agencies.

Congress as a whole maybe...but this was all done in a sub-committee meeting. Those meetings are mostly full of hot air. Until we see some legislation out of it, it's still just hot air.