Senate Hearing on 2017 TSA Budget and Security Reforms

• •The TSA interacts with approximately 2 million passengers daily.
• •The 2017 budget request includes a proposed increase in aviation security fees.
• •Ranking Member Shaheen expressed concern that the proposed fee increases may not be enacted by Congress, creating a potential budget shortfall.
• •The TSA is currently working to address Inspector General findings from the previous summer regarding security screening effectiveness.
• •The agency is shifting its mission focus from screening efficiency and speed toward security effectiveness.
• •Recent global threats include the downing of Metrojet Flight 9268 and an explosion on a commercial jet in Mogadishu.
• •Terrorist groups have published online manuals detailing how to build bombs and bypass airport security measures.
• •TSA security layers include intelligence programs, passenger prescreening, checkpoint procedures, hardened cockpit doors, air marshals, and armed pilots.

This hearing sets the stage for how the TSA will allocate federal funding to balance passenger screening speed with security effectiveness, directly impacting the procedures and wait times experienced by air travelers.

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.