TSA outlines proposed FY 2023 budget appropriations

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said $9.70 billion in proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Budget appropriations have been earmarked for the agency.

The figure represents $1.4 billion more than the TSA’s FY22 appropriations. Once approved by Congress, it is slated to support efforts to update the agency’s pay structure while ensuring frontline personnel are paid at a commensurate with counterparts on the General Schedule (GS) pay scale.

“One of the long-standing challenges at TSA has been the pay gap between TSA’s frontline workforce and their counterparts in the rest of the federal government,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said. “Equitable compensation and sufficient pay progression support TSA’s ability to meet mission requirements in the recruitment and retention of employees and positively impacts employee morale.”

The TSA budget appropriations include $871 million for additional personnel compensation and benefits; $105 million for the Checkpoint Property Screening System program and $19 million for On-Person Screening Algorithm Development; and a legislative proposal terminating TSA’s deficit reduction contributions – providing an additional $1.5 billion in existing Passenger Fee collections to offset TSA’s appropriated funding.

“We are grateful for the funding requests in the President’s Budget, but now it is up to Congress to appropriate the funding,” Pekoske said. “Once Congress appropriates this funding, we will work hard to make this effective within 90 days of enactment.”