Perry introduces TSA employee misconduct accountability bill

U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) introduced this week the Strengthening Oversight of TSA Employee Misconduct Act, which requires senior Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials to oversee the review of disciplinary actions given in response to employee misconduct.

Under current rules, disciplinary actions vary from case to case depending on the supervisor, which Perry said allowed some gross misconduct to be overlooked.

The bill requires that employee reviews are administered at random to ensure quality control and that the agency must review spot inspection results to identify root causes of systemic employee misconduct, while taking action to correct those continued errors.

“I applaud Congressman Perry for introducing a bill to strengthen oversight and accountability of the Transportation Security Administration as a continuation of his previous work leading a joint TSA misconduct investigation with our Transportation and Protective Services Subcommittee,” U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul
(R-TX), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said. “This bill will hold TSA, and its employees, accountable and better protect our aviation hubs and our homeland.”

The bill comes in the wake of a February 2017 report that the TSA allowed 13 individuals to pass through unguarded security checkpoints at New York’s JFK International Airport. Instead of reporting the breach, officials within the airport attempted to cover up the issue quietly while putting travelers at risk.

The bill will now be considered by the House Homeland Security Committee.