Katko’s TSA bill unanimously passes though House

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed bipartisan legislation on Tuesday to address growing Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) wait times at the nation’s airports.

The Checkpoint Optimization and Efficiency Act of 2016, authored by U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY), seeks to address the TSA’s flawed staffing model and works to ensure that the agency’s resources are utilized and allocated in the most efficient and effective manner to reduce wait times.

“With the summer travel season upon us, it should not be the case the passengers are missing flights or that airports are approaching operational ground stop due to long lines at security TSA security checkpoints,” Katko said. “Today, the House took action to address this crisis.”

Provisions in the bill include granting the TSA the flexibility to utilize all personnel present to compensate for long wait lines, ensures that all involved stakeholders are coordinating responses through a staffing advisory committee, requires the TSA to assess its current staffing allocation model, reallocates canine team assets to high-volume airports and checkpoints, and requires the TSA to establish a service level agreement and minimum staffing numbers at airports.

“With millions of Americans taking to the skies during the busy summer travel season, it is imperative that we alleviate this crisis of unnecessary and crushing wait times at airports across the country,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) said. “Rep. John Katko has continued to put forth sensible, bipartisan policy solutions like this bill to ensure the traveling public receives security screening that is not only effective but also efficient. It is my hope the Senate will swiftly act on this bill and other wait time reduction legislation so we can send it to the President’s desk.”

The bill awaits a vote in a Senate.