A new report by House Republican members of the Homeland Security Committee's subcommittee on Transportation Security essentially confirms what many Americans have known for years: The Transportation Security Administration is inept, overly burdensome to the transportation industry and largely ineffective in terms of identifying future threats.
In classic understatement fashion the report, titled, "Rebuilding TSA into a Smarter, Leaner Organization," concluded that "despite the reality that we have not endured another successful terrorist attack since 2001, TSA is failing to meet taxpayers' expectations."
"The agency has gone down a troubling path of overspending, limiting private-sector engagement, and failing to sufficiently protect passenger privacy," said Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the subcommittee chairman, in announcing the report last week.
TVNL Comment: Screening procedures are there to protect corporate profits. They are more focused on keeping undeclared items from entering or leaving the US. They are checking for copyright violations. They are causing you to purchase costly mini-containers of items that are much cheaper to purchase in large quantities. They are making you re-purchase items like water and beverages, and nail clippers, as they confiscate them. A few pennies or dollars adds up when you count the number of items confiscated per year. It must translate into $billions.