Dold Introduces Bipartisan Bill To Decrease TSA Wait Times, Increase Security

Press Release

In the wake of unacceptably long screening lines at O'Hare International Airport, Midway International Airport and other airports across the country, U.S. Congressman Robert Dold (IL-10), along with Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (OR-4) and Homeland Security Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (MS-2), introduced the FASTER (Funding For Aviation Screeners and Threat Elimination Restoration) Act to decrease TSA wait times and ensure safety for travelers.

"The unnecessarily long lines for screening at O'Hare and Midway are absolutely unacceptable and have been caused in no small part because a bill that was passed in 2013 played political games with TSA's budget," Rep. Dold said. "9/11 security fees being charged to airline passengers should be used only to make flying a safe and burden-free experience, but right now the government is taking money from passengers to make up for years of unrelated and out-of-control spending. Our bill puts passengers before politics to ensure that there are no more missed flights because of long lines and political gimmicks."

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Congress enacted the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) (P.L. 107-71), which created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Under the legislation, TSA assumed responsibility for aviation security, including security screening airline passengers and their baggage. To help finance the cost of securing the nation's aviation transportation system, Congress established an airline passenger fee, the September 11 Security Fee. The passenger fee is currently $5.60 per one-way trip, except that the fee imposed per round trip may not exceed $11.20.

However, in 2013, in a budget gimmick to help "offset" the cost of out of control spending, Congress began diverting one-third of the revenue collected from these airline passenger fees to pay for completely unrelated debts. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 (Budget Act) (P.L. 113-67) diverted $12.6 billion over 10 years (FY 2014 - FY 2023) for this purpose. For instance, in FY 2015, passengers paid $3.5 billion of aviation security fees. However, only $2.3 billion of this amount was used to pay for the $6.8 billion cost of TSA's aviation security expenses; $1.2 billion was diverted to compensate for other government spending.

H.R. 5340, the FASTER Act, repeals these budget gimmicks and ensures that revenues collected from passengers are used to help finance the costs of aviation security screening. This bill will increase funding for TSA to hire additional Transportation Security Officers or fund overtime to help address the enormous congestion at TSA screening at certain airports without costing the taxpayers any more money.

"At airports across the country, people are forced to wait in long security lines like cattle, causing many to miss their flight," Rep. DeFazio said. "To add insult to injury, funding to help fix the wait times exists -- it's just being diverted. I doubt most passengers know that a portion of the security fee they pay with every flight is being used for other purposes. With peak travel season starting this weekend, Congress needs to direct all of the designated funds towards the intended purpose in order to improve the efficiency of airport screening and keep passengers safe."

"The airport security checkpoint wait times crisis did not occur overnight," Rep. Thompson said. "To make sustained and measurable improvements, TSA needs an infusion of resources to be able to invest in its people and technology. TSA cannot continue to rely on temporary band-aids by moving around limited homeland security dollars. The fact that each year over a billion dollars of the fees TSA collects from every flyer is being diverted away from aviation security is a big part of the problem. The bipartisan bill we are introducing today will allow TSA to retain the fees it collects so it can properly staff airports around the country, operate as effectively as possible, and secure the American public."

Congress recently also approved Homeland Security's request to reprogram $34 million to the TSA for the expedited hiring of screeners and for overtime pay for current security staff; however, while the funds may help the problem in the short term, they are not enough to make up the significant backlog. Passengers will continue to be negatively impacted until a long-term solution, such as the FASTER Act, is signed into law.

"To provide TSA with additional resources, Congress should immediately end the practice of diverting $1.25 billion this year and $15 billion over the course of the decade away from TSA's core mission," Airports Council International-North America President and CEO Kevin M. Burke said. "Our passengers deserve better, especially considering they pay for civil aviation security services through the 9/11 Passenger Security Fee every time they buy a plane ticket. They should be getting their money's worth instead of subsidizing other federal spending. The bipartisan DeFazio-Thompson-Dold bill is the right solution."

"We applaud the leadership of Representatives DeFazio, Thompson and Dold for introducing this legislation that ensures that 9/11 fees are used as they were intended--to pay for passenger security," President and CEO of Airlines for America Nicholas E. Calio said. "There is nothing more important than the safety and security of our passengers and crewmembers, and we urge Congress to pass this legislation that will direct resources to be spent to more effectively and efficiently protect the traveling public."

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