BSPC/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — In recent undercover tests of multiple airport security checkpoints by the Department of Homeland Security, inspectors said screeners, their equipment or their procedures failed more than half of the time, according to a source familiar with the classified report.
The failure rate was around 80 percent, the source said.
In a public hearing following a private, classified briefing to the House Committee on Homeland Security, members of Congress called the failures by the Transportation Security Administration “disturbing.”
Rep. Mike Rogers went as far as to tell TSA Administrator David Pekoske, “This agency that you run is broken badly and it needs your attention.”
Pekoske was confirmed by the Senate this summer.
Inspectors “identified vulnerabilities with TSA’s screener performance, screening equipment, and associated procedures,” according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.
The statement adds that the findings remain classified but that eight recommendations have been made to TSA to improve checkpoint security. It is not clear what those recommendations are.
The news of the failure comes two years after ABC News reported that secret teams from DHS found that TSA failed 95 percent of the time to stop inspectors from covertly smuggling weapons or explosive materials through screening.
That report led to major changes ordered at TSA by then-Homeland Security Secretary Jay Johnson. The agency opened a training academy for transportation security officers and changed procedures to reduce long lines.
While still being described by lawmakers as a poor performance, TSA performed better in this round of testing than two years ago, according to the source familiar with the report.
In the public hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill, members pushed for the full implementation of new scanner equipment that creates a 3D image of bags, giving screeners better ability to spot threatening items.
The equipment is ready and being tested in TSA checkpoints in at least two airports, but software and installation challenges have slowed wider implementation.
Rep. Bill Keating questioned if the diversion of money from the agency is being used to build the president’s border wall.
“We have the technology and resources to do it but we’re not doing it because … we’re paying for a wall,” Keating said.
The congressman also noted that Viper teams, specially trained Homeland Security teams that use canines to secure transportation facilities, are being cut from 31 to eight.
It is not clear when the report will be released publicly.
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