It’s not just the much-mocked “behavior detection” gumshoes that will go, but possibly air marshals, pilot firearms training, and other TSA programs.
President Trump’s budget blueprint may be light on details, but for air travelers and airlines, one thing is clear: There could be big changes in the way the government handles airport security.
The White House has called for cuts in nearly every non-defense program, and while the Homeland Security department, which includes the Transportation Security Administration, is in line for a budget increase, most of that will likely go toward the president’s priorities: immigration enforcement and building a border wall. As a result, number-crunchers are looking at how to cut TSA programs or staffing without jeopardizing security.
Three TSA programs have been singled out by the Trump administration as particularly wasteful:
One is the Behavioral Detection Officer program, launched around ten years ago to sniff out suspicious persons with observation techniques, in part inspired by the notoriously thorough Israeli model of airport screening (combining passenger interviews with monitoring of their body language.) Under TSA’s version, screeners selected for this role spent weeks getting additional training; however, the results were less than stellar—catching a small number of passengers for drug offenses and other infractions, but no alleged terrorists. The transfer of the 3,000 officers to the front lines should help ease bottlenecks. But this transition began the middle of last year following the TSA meltdown, and the vast majority of fliers, of course, won’t notice any change at all. It’s unclear how much money will be saved, but more than $1 billion has been spent on the program thus far.
"Of the $3.7 billion currently collected from passengers annually, just $2.4 billion actually goes to airport checkpoints."
Another item on the chopping block is a grant program to support local police at airports, specifically, large hubs like those in cities deemed likely terror targets, such as New York City or Los Angeles, where they perform patrols and provide added protection to public areas. That will simply shift more of the burden for tasks like perimeter patrols to local governments, and lawmakers from affected areas are predictably outraged. “Simply put, this administration’s 'safety last' plan will not fly, and I will do everything I can to protect New York from the administration’s cash raid for the border wall,” said Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The administration argues that this is a matter better handled—and paid for—by local authorities.
Source: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/ho...pJobID=1122409001&spReportId=MTEyMjQwOTAwMQS2
President Trump’s budget blueprint may be light on details, but for air travelers and airlines, one thing is clear: There could be big changes in the way the government handles airport security.
The White House has called for cuts in nearly every non-defense program, and while the Homeland Security department, which includes the Transportation Security Administration, is in line for a budget increase, most of that will likely go toward the president’s priorities: immigration enforcement and building a border wall. As a result, number-crunchers are looking at how to cut TSA programs or staffing without jeopardizing security.
Three TSA programs have been singled out by the Trump administration as particularly wasteful:
One is the Behavioral Detection Officer program, launched around ten years ago to sniff out suspicious persons with observation techniques, in part inspired by the notoriously thorough Israeli model of airport screening (combining passenger interviews with monitoring of their body language.) Under TSA’s version, screeners selected for this role spent weeks getting additional training; however, the results were less than stellar—catching a small number of passengers for drug offenses and other infractions, but no alleged terrorists. The transfer of the 3,000 officers to the front lines should help ease bottlenecks. But this transition began the middle of last year following the TSA meltdown, and the vast majority of fliers, of course, won’t notice any change at all. It’s unclear how much money will be saved, but more than $1 billion has been spent on the program thus far.
"Of the $3.7 billion currently collected from passengers annually, just $2.4 billion actually goes to airport checkpoints."
Another item on the chopping block is a grant program to support local police at airports, specifically, large hubs like those in cities deemed likely terror targets, such as New York City or Los Angeles, where they perform patrols and provide added protection to public areas. That will simply shift more of the burden for tasks like perimeter patrols to local governments, and lawmakers from affected areas are predictably outraged. “Simply put, this administration’s 'safety last' plan will not fly, and I will do everything I can to protect New York from the administration’s cash raid for the border wall,” said Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The administration argues that this is a matter better handled—and paid for—by local authorities.
Source: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/ho...pJobID=1122409001&spReportId=MTEyMjQwOTAwMQS2
