Congress is at it again. Earlier this month, Representatives Bennie Thompson (D–MS), Edward Markey (D–MA), and Sheila Jackson Lee (D–TX), sent a letter to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) demanding to know how the agency planned to meet the congressional mandate requiring the 100 percent screening of air cargo. This letter came just days after the TSA announced it did not plan to meet the December 31 deadline for the screening of all international U.S.-bound cargo. In 2007, Congress passed the Implementing 9/11 Commission Recommendation Act. The bill included a … More

Do you think that a government union would make the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) more effective? President Obama does. The White House recently decided to begin limited collective bargaining with airline security screeners. The TSA will now collectively negotiate performance management processes, employee awards and recognition processes, and shift and transfer policies. Fortunately, the TSA will not (yet) bargain over promotions, security procedures, or personnel deployments—although the Administration can remove these limits later. If the Administration is trying to protect Americans, this is a mistake. Collective bargaining is inherently adversarial. … More

Do you think that a government union would make the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) more effective? President Obama does. The White House recently decided to begin limited collective bargaining with airline security screeners. The TSA will now collectively negotiate performance management processes, employee awards and recognition processes, and shift and transfer policies. Fortunately, the TSA will not (yet) bargain over promotions, security procedures, or personnel deployments—although the Administration can remove these limits later. If the Administration is trying to protect Americans, this is a mistake. Collective bargaining is inherently adversarial. … More

Today, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released a scathing report that deconstructed the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) claims regarding the Screening Partnership Program (SPP). The SPP, created under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, grants airports the ability to opt out of using federal screeners and instead rely on private screeners to…

“These are our rights. This is what the constitution limits you to. You may go no further.”

“the fiction in operation at the airport is that travelers have consented to search as a condition of travel.”

Consent to rights violations? Heck no! And make it as tough as possible for them to keep doing it!

Last night, on a purely partisan 47–51 vote, the Senate rejected an amendment that would have stopped government unions from organizing Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees. The vote was made possible by an announcement two Fridays ago by President Barack Obama political appointee and TSA Administrator John Pistole. Pistole rejected TSA’s original policy that collective…

There is absolutely nothing wrong with full-body scanners. In fact, the more we innovate and introduce new security technologies, the more we can stay one step ahead of terrorists. But there are major problems with the way the Department of Homeland Security, through the Transportation Security Administration, is handling security at airports. Requiring more and…

You see, if you start with a flawed premise, you will always come up with the wrong answer.