Bill would privatize airport security under federal oversight
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Abolish TSA Act, which would dissolve the bloated and ineffective Transportation Security Administration (TSA) while allowing America’s airports to compete to provide the safest, most efficient, and least intrusive security measures, under a new Office of Aviation Security Oversight.
“The TSA has become an inefficient, bureaucratic mess that infringes on Americans’ freedoms and wastes taxpayer money,” said Sen. Tuberville. “It’s a bloated agency that offers minimal security benefits while causing unnecessary delays and frustration for travelers. We need to focus on smarter, more effective methods to protect our country without sacrificing the liberties that make America great. The TSA should be eliminated and replaced with more targeted, streamlined, and accountable solutions.”
“The TSA has not only intruded into the privacy and personal space of most Americans, it has also repeatedly failed tests to find weapons and explosives,” said Sen. Lee.“Our bill privatizes security functions at American airports under the eye of an Office of Aviation Security Oversight, bringing this bureaucratic behemoth to a welcome end. American families can travel safely without feeling the hands of an army of federal employees.”
Read full text of the legislation here and the Fox News exclusive here.
BACKGROUND:
The TSA is not equipped to manage the fast-evolving threats posed to aviation transportation. Over the past two decades, it has ballooned into an over-bloated, inefficient agency of 60,000 employees. Its highly bureaucratic and non-competitive nature make it slow-moving, perpetually out of date, highly resistant to innovation and modernization, and simply ineffective. In addition to widespread allegations of employee misconduct and theft, a 2015 assessment found that TSA agents missed 95% of mock explosives and banned weapons during checkpoint screenings. The 95% failure rate was repeated in 2017 at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport and repeat national tests that year were “in the ballpark” of 80% failure rates.
Switching to privatization with appropriate but limited government oversight is the answer for modern aviation security. Over 80% of European commercial airports privatized airport security screening, and the overall performance of the U.S. airports—such as the San Francisco International Airport—participating in the TSA’s limited privatization program (Screening Partnership Program, or SPP) frequently outperformed their federalized counterparts in reducing wait times and mitigating threats.
Competition drives excellence, efficiency, and safety—not bureaucracy. TSA, the regulating entity in aviation security, should not be conducting the regulated activity.
Abolish TSA Act:
TSA is abolished three years after enactment, allowing time for privatization and the repeal or transfer of additional authorities.
Within 90 days of enactment, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall submit a reorganization plan to Congress that includes:
- Creation of the Office of Aviation Security Oversight within the FAA, solely responsible for overseeing the privatization of aviation security screening.
- Rapid transfer of security activities and equipment to qualified private companies.
- Transfer of non-aviation security functions to DOT (mass transit, freight rail, pipelines, etc.).
- Proportional reductions of TSA operations and personnel to facilitate transfer of duties.
The reorganization plan cannot include requirements for private security companies to conduct warrantless searches and seizures or extend the TSA’s existence. Congress will consider, amend, vote up or down on the reorganization plan through expedited and privileged procedure. Compliance will be monitored by the GAO and regular reports to Congress.
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Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.
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