Monday was another “red letter” day for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)—and not in a good way.
Earlier this week, ABC News reported that undercover agents in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) successfully smuggled fake explosives and weapons through 67 of 70 checkpoints in a secret nationwide exercise. The agents, dubbed a Red Team by the department, adopted tactics commonly used by terrorists to thwart the TSA in major airports across the country.
As a result, the acting director of the TSA received his pink slip from Secretary Jeh Johnson on Monday night. Johnson immediately called on the TSA to “revise its standard operating procedures” and reassess how it manages America’s airline security.
This disappointing news reveals a major shortcoming in the current structure of the TSA. Now more than ever, the U.S. must reform the agency to make airport security more efficient, less costly, and more responsive to the needs of officials and the general public.
One solution is to expand the Screening Partnership Program (SPP). Created in 2001, SPP allows private airport screeners to operate under the oversight of the TSA. Private personnel check bags, screen passengers, and manage daily affairs while meeting the same standards originally enacted by Congress after 9/11.
At the start of this year, a total of 21 airports in the U.S. received approval to use private contractors under SPP. A study by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee found that private screeners were up to 65 percent more efficient than federal workers. In addition, taxpayers could save $1 billion over five years if the nation’s top 35 airports adopted SPP procedures.
While every airport has the ability to pursue changes under SPP, the government has made it difficult for them to do so. Congress had to reprimand the TSA in 2012 for holding up the approval of new SPP contracts. Using a flawed assessment, TSA officials reported that private screeners would cost more than the “government knows best” status quo in several airports. Outside groups criticized the calculations, stating that SPP is actually less expensive and just as safe.
A main source of savings with SPP is the reduced turnover of employees and improved on-the-job morale. Research shows that private contractors are better able to retain and keep workers, who perform their jobs just as effectively as government workers, if not more effectively. And if a contractor’s performance falls short, it can and should be replaced.
Canada and numerous European countries currently utilize private contractors in their airports, with great success. In these nations, the government sets the security standards while allowing the private sector to manage the screening process and improve the overall experience for travelers.
In light of its failure to prevent 95 percent of the recent Red Team probes, the TSA should consider a number of possible reforms to how it handles airline security. The most important of these changes is an expansion of the SPP to more airports, so that private screeners can work with federal officials to ensure that Americans remain safe in the air at all times.
The TSA should say goodbye to personnel management and refocus its efforts on overseeing the actual security of our airports.
Ryan Spaude is currently a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. For more information on interning at Heritage, please click here.
