Legislation that would ensure certain fees collected on plane tickets would go to strengthening aviation and airport security is gaining support from the aviation industry.
Leaders from across the industry have expressed their support for the “Spending Aviation Fees for Equipment, Guaranteeing Upgraded and Advanced Risk Detection and Safety Act” or SAFEGUARDS Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL), chair of the House Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology.
The legislation would ensure that the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) 9/11 Passenger Security Fee (PSF) would go toward aviation and airport security. Those fees amount to around $5.60 on a one-way plane ticket. In 2014, Congress voted to redirect about a third of PSF revenue, roughly $15 billion, away from passenger security efforts.
“Every time we tell a passenger that they’re paying a 9/11 fee, we’re lying to them because this body has, up until now, up until the SAFEGUARDS Act, which will finally stop this madness, diverted billions, about a billion and a half a year in the past few years. And that money is critically needed,” Christopher Sununu, president and CEO of Airlines for America. “When we looked at the technology that’s really needed to get us where we need to be, right now, we’re on pace for maybe 2042, 2043, like 15 years out. That’s how far behind we are, and that’s how much we’ve let down both the TSOs themselves from not having the technology to do their job better [and] the airports themselves… The SAFEGUARDS Act is just the first, but an incredibly critical step to making sure that this nonsense is finally pushed into the positive direction.”
The SAFEGUARDS Act was cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Tim Kennedy (D-NY); Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY), Homeland Security Committee Chair; Michael Guest (R-MS), Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement Chair; Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), and Gabe Evans (R-CO).
At an Emergency Management and Technology Subcommittee hearing on TSA modernization efforts, other industry leaders joined in support of the legislation.
“The idea that the consumer is going to pay that fee and then continue to pay the 9/11 fee is disheartening,” Chris McLaughlin, CEO of the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), said. “The sooner we get this resolved, the better. The fee diversion should stop. I think it’s near $16 billion over the last 12 to 13 years, and that would go a long way.”