“Study after study has shown the TSA is essentially
engaged in security theater, making people feel safe with- out improving safety. “The U.S. has merely made it costlier and more time- consuming to fly. TSA agents riffle through luggage and subject travelers to aggressive pat-downs of their genitals. “Navigating these intrusive procedures often requires
showing up to the airport much earlier than would other- wise be necessary, creating inefficiencies for the airlines and their customers.” So what can be done to overcome the obstacles to
reform? Aviation experts suggest Trump issue an emer- gency blanket waiver to allow all airports to hire private screeners, effective immediately. He should further specify that any TSA agent who
elects to take a furlough for the purpose of working for a private screening company shall be entitled to rein- statement on request if normal TSA operations resume at their facility. Trump should also press Congress to vote on a perma-
TSA has 59,000 employees, they work at an average cost of $145,000 in salary, benefits, and overhead per employee, and are represented by a powerful union that jealously guards their turf.
reason to worry about terrorism around aviation issues — use elite contractors to implement many of their secu- rity measures, especially when the Israeli carrier El Al is involved. It shouldn’t be hard to bring common sense to airport
security. But the political challenge is real. TSA has 59,000 employees, they work at an average
cost of $145,000 in salary, benefits, and overhead per employee, and are represented by a powerful union that jealously guards their turf. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done if there is the
political will. Private contractors are the norm in Europe, where unions are far more powerful. And Canada uses private security firms, and its per-capita costs for avia- tion are about 40% lower.
FALSE SECURITY Contrast that reality with what we have in the U.S. Writer Robby Soave painted the picture in Reason magazine:
nent fix. The International Civil Aviation Organization has ruled that security providers and regulators should be independent, and that’s the model in countries such as Canada, Britain, Germany, France, and Spain. But if Congress balks in the face of the overwhelming
evidence for reform, they should be shamed into making it easier to accept offers from the likes of Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. At the height of the March Madness over airport lines, Musk offered to cover the daily cost of paying salaries to TSA agents who weren’t getting their regular paychecks. That number would have been something less than
the $23.6 million a day the TSA spends on all its person- nel, but still a big chunk of change. However, Musk knew he could afford it, since he sits
on a fortune of $850 billion. But a problem soon became clear. It would have been
illegal for Musk to pay the TSA screeners because federal law bans executive branch employees from receiving sal- ary or salary supplements from any source other than the United States. In addition, while individuals can make gifts to the Department of Homeland Security, those funds cannot be obligated or spent unless specifically permitted in advance by Congress. Trump should lay out all of this in a major speech demanding congressional action to fix our broken airport security system — and simultaneously call for following the lead of other advanced nations in having independent companies run the government’s hopelessly outdated air traffic control system. Why should travelers continue to be subject to
the whims of Washington budget combatants while the rest of the world goes about its business without that kind of drama?
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