House advances TSA bill to address leadership issues within the agency

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed this week the TSA Administrator Modernization Act of 2017, which seeks to address various leadership issues within the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The bill was authored by U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) and is currently awaiting a vote in the Senate. Katko chairs the House Homeland Security Committee’s Transportation and Protective Security Subcommittee, which holds sole jurisdiction over all TSA issues.

The TSA was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks as a standalone agency to address security vulnerabilities in the nation’s aviation systems. At that time, the agency’s administrator was given a standard five-year term.

When the department and its functions were transferred to the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, however, that five-year term was phased out. Katko’s bill attempts to fix some of the bureaucratic challenges within the agency by re-establishing the administrator’s five-year term.

“Many of the issues and bureaucratic challenges that TSA faces today stem from a lack of consistent leadership at the top.” Katko said. “Since I came to Congress in January 2015, TSA has had five different individuals serve as administrator—both as appointees and as acting administrators. This is a staggering number.”

Katko’s bill comes in the wake of a recent TSA decision to prohibit electronic items in carry-on luggage on non-stop, U.S.-bound flights from Cairo, Amman, Kuwait City, Casablanca, Doha, Riyadh, Jeddah, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai.

“While this is only one step in addressing the many challenges at TSA, this legislation will provide for more consistent leadership and transparency, which is an important responsibility of Congress, especially at such a critical security agency,” Katko said.