[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                   ORGANIZATIONAL OVERSIGHT: EXAMINING TSA'S 
                            POST-MODERNIZATION EFFORTS

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                            SUBCOMMITTEE ON
                  TRANSPORTATION AND MARITIME SECURITY

                                 OF THE

                     COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                             MARCH 12, 2024

                               __________

                           Serial No. 118-54

                               __________

       Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
                                     

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        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

                               __________
                               
                  U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
57-419 PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2024                    
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------                                    
 
                     COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

                 Mark E. Green, MD, Tennessee, Chairman
                 
Michael T. McCaul, Texas             Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi, 
Clay Higgins, Louisiana                  Ranking Member
Michael Guest, Mississippi           Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas
Dan Bishop, North Carolina           Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey
Carlos A. Gimenez, Florida           Eric Swalwell, California
August Pfluger, Texas                J. Luis Correa, California
Andrew R. Garbarino, New York        Troy A. Carter, Louisiana
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia      Shri Thanedar, Michigan
Tony Gonzales, Texas                 Seth Magaziner, Rhode Island
Nick LaLota, New York                Glenn Ivey, Maryland
Mike Ezell, Mississippi              Daniel S. Goldman, New York
Anthony D'Esposito, New York         Robert Garcia, California
Laurel M. Lee, Florida               Delia C. Ramirez, Illinois
Morgan Luttrell, Texas               Robert Menendez, New Jersey
Dale W. Strong, Alabama              Thomas R. Suozzi, New York
Josh Brecheen, Oklahoma              Yvette D. Clarke, New York
Elijah Crane, Arizona
                      Stephen Siao, Staff Director
                  Hope Goins, Minority Staff Director
                       Sean Corcoran, Chief Clerk
                                 ------                                

          SUBCOMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND MARITIME SECURITY

                  Carlos A. Gimenez, Florida, Chairman
Clay Higgins, Louisiana              Shri Thanedar, Michigan, Ranking 
Nick LaLota, New York                    Member
Laurel M. Lee, Florida               Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey
Mark E. Green, MD, Tennessee (ex     Robert Garcia, California
    officio)                         Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi 
                                         (ex officio)
                  Vacancy, Subcommittee Staff Director
           Alex Marston, Minority Subcommittee Staff Director
                           
                           C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

                               Statements

The Honorable Carlos A. Gimenez, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Florida, and Chairman, Subcommittee on 
  Transportation and Maritime Security:
  Oral Statement.................................................     1
  Prepared Statement.............................................     3
The Honorable Shri Thanedar, a Representative in Congress From 
  the State of Michigan, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on 
  Transportation and Maritime Security:
  Oral Statement.................................................     4
  Prepared Statement.............................................     5
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Mississippi, and Ranking Member, Committee on 
  Homeland Security:
  Prepared Statement.............................................     6

                               Witnesses

Ms. Stacey Fitzmaurice, Executive Assistant Administrator, 
  Operations Support, TSA:
  Oral Statement.................................................     7
  Joint Prepared Statement.......................................     8
Ms. Julie Scanlon, Executive Assistant Administrator, Enterprise 
  Support, TSA:
  Oral Statement.................................................    15
  Joint Prepared Statement.......................................     8
Mr. Brian C. Belcher, Executive Assistant Administrator, Director 
  for the Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service, TSA:
  Oral Statement.................................................    16
  Joint Prepared Statement.......................................     8
Mr. Steve Lorincz, Deputy Executive Assistant Administrator, 
  Security Operations, TSA:
  Oral Statement.................................................    16
  Joint Prepared Statement.......................................     8

                                Appendix

Question From Honorable Carlos Gimenez for the Department of 
  Homeland Security..............................................    25

 
  ORGANIZATIONAL OVERSIGHT: EXAMINING TSA'S POST-MODERNIZATION EFFORTS

                              ----------                              


                        Tuesday, March 12, 2024

             U.S. House of Representatives,
                    Committee on Homeland Security,
                        Subcommittee on Transportation and 
                                         Maritime Security,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m., at 
Room 310, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Carlos Gimenez 
[Chairman of the subcommittee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Gimenez, Higgins, LaLota, 
Thanedar, and Payne.
    Chairman Gimenez. The Committee on Homeland Security, 
Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security will come 
to order. Without objection the Chair may declare the 
subcommittee in recess at any point.
    Today's hearing will examine TSA's post-modernization 
efforts through organizational oversight.
    I now recognize myself for an opening statement.
    Today, our subcommittee is meeting to discuss the 
organizational structure of the Transportation Security 
Administration opportunities for Congress to ensure that the 
agency carries out its mission effectively, efficiently, and in 
a cost-effective manner. TSA is an organization that was formed 
in response to the tragic acts of terrorism that took the lives 
of nearly 3,000 innocent Americans on September 11, 2001. In 
the aftermath of the terrible casualties and destruction, the 
U.S. Government overhauled its approach to transportation 
security to prevent similar attacks in the future. Now, 22 
years later, TSA employs over 60,000 brave men and women who 
take on the difficult mission each day to keep our 
transportation sector safe, particularly at our airports.
    As with all organizations, as TSA has matured, it has taken 
on more responsibility and expanded its roles and capabilities. 
This committee believes that TSA's organizational structure 
must support its mission, and to do that, TSA must have clear 
goals and be streamlined for effective operation. When I was 
mayor of Miami-Dade County, I evaluated the structure and 
corresponding costs of our system, and I find that by 
implementing budget reductions, the system actually worked more 
efficiently. In 2018, TSA underwent a significant 
reorganization aimed at enhancing its efficiency, 
effectiveness, and responsiveness to emerging threats.
    We are here today to discuss how effective those 
transitions have been and to hear from the deputies that are 
tasked with executing Administrator Pekoske's vision. So far, 
the 118th Congress, this subcommittee has covered several 
critical issues TSA faces today. We are especially focused on 
technology at TSA, work force pay, the impending Real ID 
transition, and the on-going issue regarding the September 11 
security fee. In previous hearings, we have discussed the 
importance of developing and deploying new cutting-edge 
technologies at airport security checkpoints that allow 
transportation security officers to thoroughly screen all 
passengers in a time-efficient and minimally-invasive manner. 
However, TSA's current projections show a pessimistic outlook 
for when the entire flying American public can expect to have 
access to the most technologically up-to-date systems. 
Administrator Pekoske has told the committee that we should not 
expect to see a final roll-out of the technology until the 
2040's.
    We have also discussed the new pay plan that was 
implemented on July 2, 2023. TSA employee satisfaction 
consistently ranks low and attrition rates are high. 
Administrator Pekoske has communicated to me that TSA has 
already seen lower attrition levels because of these pay 
increases. I have concerns about the current path to TSA's pay 
equity, particularly the long-term viability of the new pay 
plan. We have been told by TSA that unless the pay increase is 
annualized, there is a possibility that TSA will have 
significant issues moving forward. I think I speak for all of 
us on the committee that we want to see the front-line 
personnel paid a fair and equitable wage on parity with the 
rest of the Federal Government. I am ready to work with my 
colleagues across the aisle to find an effective long-term 
solution.
    Finally, we have also examined the September 11 security 
fee, or passenger security fee and the current diversion of 
this fee. While the fee, which stands at $5.60 per one way 
trip, was intended to fund TSA's operations at airports, part 
of the fees collected from U.S. air travellers is currently 
being diverted to the Treasury to pay for interest on the 
national debt. Additionally, there has been no effort from TSA 
to prioritize checkpoint technology from funds provided by the 
fee collection. TSA sets aside around $250 million annually 
from this fee collected for checked baggage technology. This 
time, the TSA prioritizes checkpoint technology, which all air 
passengers interact with during their travels, in the same way 
that the agency prioritizes checked baggage technology.
    While the fee diversion is a difficult issue because of the 
budgetary implications of ending the fee diversion, I am 
confident that we can find a solution to ensure that TSA can 
access the fee collected to accelerate deployment of new 
technologies. I am also encouraged that in last year's 
Administrative Intent, Administrator Pekoske prioritized 
innovation in technology as well as investment in the agency's 
front-line work force, two priorities of this subcommittee. 
However, this subcommittee must continue to examine further 
opportunities to make TSA more efficient and ensure safety 
across the entire transportation sector. I look forward to 
discussion and the solutions that are offered.
    [The statement of Chairman Gimenez follows:]
                Statement of Chairman Carlos A. Gimenez
    Today, our subcommittee is meeting to discuss the organizational 
structure of the Transportation Security Administration and 
opportunities for Congress to ensure that the agency carries out its 
mission effectively, efficiently, and in a cost-effective manner.
    TSA is an organization that was formed in response to the tragic 
acts of terrorism that took the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent 
Americans on September 11, 2001.
    In the aftermath of the terrible casualties and destruction, the 
U.S. Government overhauled its approach to transportation security to 
prevent similar attacks in the future.
    Now, 22 years later, TSA employs over 60,000 brave men and women 
who take on the difficult mission each day to keep our transportation 
sector safe--particularly at our airports.
    As with all organizations--as TSA has matured, it has taken on more 
responsibility and expanded its roles and capabilities. This committee 
believes that TSA's organizational structure must support its mission 
and to do that, TSA must have clear goals and be streamlined for 
effective execution.
    When I was mayor of Miami-Dade County, I evaluated the structure 
and corresponding costs for our system and I found that by implementing 
budget reductions, the system actually worked more efficiently.
    In 2018, TSA underwent a significant reorganization aimed at 
enhancing its efficiency, effectiveness, and responsiveness to emerging 
threats.
    We are here today to discuss how effective those transitions have 
been and to hear from the deputies that are tasked with executing 
Administrator Pekoske's vision. So far during the 118th Congress, this 
subcommittee has covered several critical issues TSA faces today.
    We have especially focused on technology at TSA, workforce pay, the 
impending REAL ID transition, and the on-going issue regarding the 
September 11 Security Fee.
    In previous hearings, we have discussed the importance of 
developing and deploying new, cutting-edge technologies at airport 
security checkpoints that allow Transportation Security Officers to 
thoroughly screen all passengers in a time-efficient and minimally-
invasive manner.
    However, TSA's current projections show a pessimistic outlook for 
when the entire flying American public can expect to have access to the 
most technologically up-to-date systems.
    Administrator Pekoske has told this committee that we should not 
expect to see a final roll-out of the technology until the 2040's.
    We have also discussed the new Pay Plan that was implemented on 
July 2, 2023.
    TSA employee satisfaction consistently ranks low and attrition 
rates are high.
    Administrator Pekoske has communicated to me that TSA is already 
seeing lower attrition levels because of these pay increases.
    I have concerns about the current path to TSA's pay equity--
particularly the long-term viability of the new Pay Plan.
    We have been told by TSA that unless the pay increase is 
annualized, there is a possibility that TSA will have significant 
issues moving forward.
    I think I speak for all of us on the committee that we want to see 
the front-line personnel paid a fair and equitable wage, on parity with 
the rest of the Federal Government.
    I am ready to work with my colleagues across the aisle to find an 
effective, long-term solution.
    Finally, we have also examined the September 11 Security Fee, or 
Passenger Security Fee, and the current diversion of this fee.
    While the fee--which stands at $5.60 per one-way trip--was intended 
to fund TSA's operations at airports, part of the fees collected from 
U.S. air travelers is currently being diverted to the Treasury to pay 
for interest on our national debt.
    Additionally, there has been no effort from TSA to prioritize 
checkpoint technology from funds provided by the fee collection.
    TSA sets aside $250 million annually from the fees collected for 
checked baggage technology.
    It is time that TSA prioritizes checkpoint technology--which all 
air passengers interact with during their travels--in the same way that 
the agency prioritizes checked baggage technology.
    While the fee diversion is a difficult issue because of the 
budgetary implications of ending the fee diversion, I am confident that 
we can find a solution to ensure that TSA can access the fees collected 
to accelerate the deployment of new technologies.
    I am also encouraged that in last year's Administrator's Intent, 
Administrator Pekoske prioritized innovation in technology as well as 
investment in the agency's front-line workforce, two priorities of this 
subcommittee.
    However, this subcommittee must continue to examine further 
opportunities to make TSA more efficient and ensure safety across the 
entire transportations sector.
    I look forward to the discussion and the solutions that are 
offered.

    Chairman Gimenez. I now recognize the Ranking Member, the 
gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Thanedar, for his opening 
statement.
    Mr. Thanedar. Good morning. Good morning and thank you, 
Chairman Gimenez, for calling today's hearing, and thank you to 
all of our witnesses for being here. For 25-some years I ran 
small businesses and running a small business, making sure that 
I honor my payroll every 2 weeks, take care of my employees, 
and still have a little bit of money left to invest, I 
understand the importance of running an operation in an 
efficient manner and having the revenues or the budget to serve 
and do the mission that is critical to your organization.
    The TSA was, as you know, established in the aftermath of 
the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, making it one of the 
Federal Government's youngest agencies. Over the past 2 
decades, TSA has experienced numerous changes in leadership and 
restructuring as it has matured into an efficient and an 
effective agency. Most recently, in 2018, Congress passed the 
TSA Modernization Act, which provided high-level direction for 
TSA's organization structure, set a 5-year term for the 
position of the TSA administrator, and required TSA to conduct 
an efficiency review to streamline its operation. In addition, 
TSA Administrator David Pekoske directed a realignment of 
agency functions concurrent with to the development and passage 
of the TSA Modernization Act. Under the restructuring, TSA 
aligned functions under four pillars, which are represented by 
the witnesses present today. Though there is always room for 
improvement, I believe this structure is serving TSA well.
    I look forward to hearing from today's witnesses about how 
Congress can best support TSA as it continues to mature.
    Conducting oversight of TSA's long-term priorities and 
growth as an agency is important. But as we sit here today, TSA 
faces dire short-term problems. Yet again, we find ourselves on 
the verge of an unnecessary Government shutdown due to 
Republican's failure to govern. A lapse in appropriations would 
be devastating for TSA workers, almost all of whom would be 
required to work without pay during a shutdown. However, even a 
funding solution that continues at 2023 levels for the rest of 
2024 would be hugely problematic for TSA, as the agency faces a 
major funding shortfall.
    In 2022, Democrats in Congress provided significant 
resources in the omnibus funding bill to increase pay and 
collective bargaining rights for TSA workers, finally putting 
them on equal footing with the other Federal employees. It is 
imperative that Congress dedicate additional funding in this 
effort. Pay increases began last July, with workers seeing 30 
percent raises on average, a difference that is truly life-
changing for workers who were previously living paycheck-to-
paycheck.
    The work force has also negotiated a tentative collective 
bargaining agreement under the new framework, allowing for 
negotiation on an expanded set of topics. These work force 
initiatives are already having a remarkable impact as TSA 
attrition rates have dropped nearly in half. Higher retention 
will improve security as TSA develops a highly-skilled, 
experienced work force while also saving millions of dollars on 
hiring and training efforts.
    Going forward, we must provide TSA with the funding to 
continue these critical work force initiatives without needing 
to reduce staffing levels. Last May, Ranking Member Thompson 
introduced the Fund the TSA Act, which would raise passenger 
security fee by a modest $2 per trip to provide TSA with the 
resources it desperately needs. This bill would allow TSA to 
invest in its work force, screen increasing number of 
travellers, purchase additional advanced technology and fund 
critical airport law enforcement and canine programs. It is 
long past time for this committee to consider legislation to 
address TSA's funding challenges, and I hope the Chairman will 
join me in pushing for a solution.
    Thank you again for being here. I look forward to your 
testimony and I yield back, Mr. Chair.
    [The statement of Ranking Member Thanedar follows:]
               Statement of Ranking Member Shri Thanedar
                             March 12, 2024
    The Transportation Security Administration was established in the 
aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, making it one 
of the Federal Government's youngest agencies. Over the past two 
decades, TSA has experienced numerous changes in leadership and 
restructurings as it has matured into an efficient and effective 
agency.
    Most recently, in 2018, Congress passed the TSA Modernization Act, 
which provided high-level direction for TSA's organizational structure, 
set a 5-year term for the position of the TSA administrator, and 
required TSA to conduct an efficiency review to streamline its 
operations. In addition, TSA Administrator David Pekoske directed a 
realignment of agency functions concurrent to the development and 
passage of the TSA Modernization Act.
    Under this restructuring, TSA aligned functions under four 
``pillars,'' which are represented by the witnesses present today. 
Though there is always room for improvement, I believe this structure 
is serving TSA well. I look forward to hearing from today's witnesses 
about how Congress can best support TSA as it continues to mature.
    Conducting oversight of TSA's long-term priorities and growth as an 
agency is important, but as we sit here today, TSA faces dire short-
term problems. Yet again, we find ourselves on the verge of an 
unnecessary Government shutdown due to Republicans' failure to govern. 
A lapse in appropriations would be devastating for TSA workers, almost 
all of whom would be required to work without pay during a shutdown. 
However, even a funding solution that continues at 2023 levels for the 
rest of 2024 would be hugely problematic for TSA, as the agency faces a 
major funding shortfall.
    In 2022, Democrats in Congress provided significant resources in 
the omnibus funding bill to increase pay and collective bargaining 
rights for TSA workers, finally putting them on equal footing with 
other Federal employees. It is imperative that Congress dedicate 
additional funding to this effort. Pay increases began last July, with 
workers seeing 30 percent raises on average--a difference that is truly 
life-changing for workers who were previously living paycheck-to-
paycheck.
    The workforce has also negotiated a tentative collective bargaining 
agreement under a new framework allowing for negotiation on an expanded 
set of topics. These workforce initiatives are already having a 
remarkable impact, as TSA's attrition rates have dropped nearly in 
half. Higher retention will improve security as TSA develops a highly-
skilled, experienced workforce, while also saving millions of dollars 
on hiring and training efforts.
    Going forward, we must provide TSA with the funding to continue 
these critical workforce initiatives without needing to reduce staffing 
levels. Last May, Ranking Member Thompson introduced the Fund the TSA 
Act, which would raise passenger security fees by a modest $2 per trip 
to provide TSA with the resources it desperately needs. This bill would 
allow TSA to invest in its workforce, screen increasing numbers of 
travelers, purchase additional advanced technology, and fund critical 
airport law enforcement and canine programs.
    It is long past time for this committee to consider legislation to 
address TSA's funding challenges, and I hope the Chairman will join me 
in pushing for a solution. I look forward to discussing these issues 
further, and I yield back.

    Chairman Gimenez. Thank you, to Ranking Member. Other 
Members of the committee are reminded that opening statements 
may be submitted for the record.
    [The statement of Ranking Member Thompson follows:]
             Statement of Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson
                             March 12, 2024
    The Transportation Security Administration has matured 
significantly as an agency in the years since its establishment in the 
aftermath of the September 11 attacks. When Congress created TSA, it 
granted the TSA administrator broad authorities to determine the 
structure of the agency, impose security requirements across the 
transportation industry, and develop a unique personnel system separate 
from the rest of the Federal Government.
    Creating an agency from the ground up was a heavy lift. In my view, 
TSA would have been better served by sticking to existing models within 
the Federal Government--especially the tried-and-true personnel system 
used by most Federal agencies, as delineated by title 5 of the U.S. 
Code. For many years, TSA struggled to find its footing--especially 
when it came to managing a large workforce that was afforded few labor 
rights and underpaid compared to its Federal counterparts.
    Over the years, the disparities between TSA workers and other 
Federal employees grew and grew, as TSA workers did not receive regular 
salary increases provided to their peers. TSA suffered from low morale, 
high attrition, and a series of unfortunate headlines.
    In 2018, Congress enacted the TSA Modernization Act, the first and 
still only reauthorization of the agency since its inception. The Act 
provided high-level direction on the organization of the agency, 
required TSA to carry out an efficiency review of its operations, and 
set a 5-year term for the administrator position to provide leadership 
stability.
    In 2020, under Democratic control, the House passed my bill, the 
Rights for Transportation Security Officers Act of 2020, representing 
the first-ever passage of a bill in either chamber to place TSA 
workers' pay and labor rights on equal footing with the rest of the 
Federal Government. Though we have not yet been able to get the bill 
through the Senate, I am grateful that we found eager partners in 
President Biden, Secretary Mayorkas, and Administrator Pekoske. They 
have all prioritized using existing authorities to address pay 
disparities and labor rights limitations for the TSA workforce.
    In December 2022, Democrats in Congress dedicated approximately 
$400 million to TSA workforce initiatives in an omnibus spending bill--
historic funding which has set TSA on a better path. Last July, 30 
percent pay increases hit TSA employee paychecks. Almost immediately, 
TSA's attrition rate dropped by 40 to 50 percent.
    Higher pay will enable TSA to keep up with growing passenger loads; 
save money on recruiting, hiring, and training new personnel; and 
increase security by keeping officers with seniority and expertise 
within the agency. We cannot allow this progress to falter. The funding 
for these workforce initiatives only covered the final quarter of 
fiscal year 2023, and TSA is now struggling to make ends meet as we 
progress through 2024 still using 2023 funding levels.
    We must provide TSA the funding it needs to fully annualize 
improvements for the workforce while remaining fully staffed and 
continuing to invest in technology upgrades, cybersecurity efforts, and 
other security programs across the transportation sector. Congress must 
consider all possible solutions to this funding challenge, including 
increasing passenger security fees that have remained stagnant for many 
years, despite inflation and increases in airline ticket prices.
    That is why I have introduced the Fund the TSA Act, which would 
provide TSA with the resources it needs to invest in its workforce and 
the next generation of screening technologies by enacting a modest 
increase to passenger fees and indexing future fee amounts to 
inflation. I hope my Republican colleagues will work with me to develop 
a solution to TSA's pressing needs.

    Chairman Gimenez. Again, I am pleased to have a 
distinguished panel of witnesses before us today on this 
critical topic. I ask that our witnesses please rise and raise 
their right hand.
    [Witnesses sworn.]
    Chairman Gimenez. Let the record reflect that the witnesses 
have answered in the affirmative. Thank you, and please be 
seated.
    I would now like to formally introduce our witnesses. 
Stacey Fitzmaurice, who serves as the executive assistant 
administrator for operations support. Julie Scanlon, who serves 
as the executive assistant administrator for enterprise 
support. Brian Becker, who serves as the executive assistant 
administrator for law enforcement, Federal Air Marshal 
Services. Steve Lorincz, who serves as the deputy executive 
assistant administrator for security operations.
    I thank each of our distinguished witnesses for being here 
today, and I recognize Executive Assistant Administrator Stacey 
Fitzmaurice for 5 minutes to summarize her opening statements.

     STATEMENT OF STACEY FITZMAURICE, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 
             ADMINISTRATOR, OPERATIONS SUPPORT, TSA

    Ms. Fitzmaurice. Good morning, Chairman Gimenez, Ranking 
Member Thanedar, and distinguished Members of the subcommittee. 
Thank you for inviting me and my TSA colleagues to testify on 
the organization, effectiveness, and success of TSA's 
organizational structure in carrying out the agency's critical 
transportation security mission. We are very proud of the work 
we have accomplished together as an agency and with our 
partners.
    In 2023, TSA screened over 858 million passengers, 484 
million checked bags, and 1.9 billion carry-on items, and 
prevented passengers from bringing 6,737 firearms into the 
secure area of the airport and on-board an aircraft. In 2018, 
TSA completed an organizational review, taking into account 
Congressional and industry feedback, as well as TSA's strategic 
priorities and goals. The results of this review resulted in a 
realignment of TSA's organizational structure. TSA is composed 
of the Office of the Administrator and four distinct 
organizational pillars: operations support, security 
operations, enterprise support, and law enforcement Federal Air 
Marshal Service. Each pillar is led by a career senior 
executive who reports directly to the Office of the 
Administrator.
    Since the 2018 realignment, TSA is more effectively able to 
manage risk, identify requirements, deploy resources, and 
assess operational outcomes. We are organized in a manner that 
allows us to remain agile and resilient. We prioritize and 
invest in our most valuable asset, our people. We have strong 
partnerships with our industry and international partners to 
raise the global transportation security standards, and we are 
continuously driving innovation to remain ahead of 
transportation security threats. I'd like to provide some 
examples of TSA's collaborative achievements.
    The first, is TSA's new compensation system. Attrition 
among the TSA front-line work force reached a peak of nearly 20 
percent per year in 2019, due in large part to a compensation 
plan that paid TSA employees far less than their Federal 
counterparts. As a result of a lot of hard work and engagement 
with our Congressional partners in the Omnibus Appropriations 
Act of 2023, Congress provided the initial funding to place all 
non-executive TSA employees on a compensation system 
commensurate with their Federal Government counterparts. To 
successfully implement this new compensation system, we worked 
internally to establish policy, provide training, and process 
thousands of associated personnel actions. With the 
implementation of the new compensation system, we have seen 
improvements in retention, recruiting, and hiring, and a 
reduction in attrition to 11 percent. We have not only been 
able to be more selective in our hiring, but we have been able 
to meet the increased mission demands during record-breaking 
air travel volumes as a result of this investment in our 
employees.
    Seven of the top 10 busiest days of all time were in 2023, 
and this year we expect to see over 3 million passengers on a 
single point at some point. Our success was a direct result of 
our planning and hiring efforts, coupled with innovative 
procedures and technologies and close coordination with our 
industry partners to meet the increased mission demands.
    Cybersecurity threats in the transportation sector from 
nation-states, cyber criminals, terrorist groups, and 
hacktivists are on the rise and have necessitated an increased 
focus on the cybersecurity of the transportation systems. 
Following extensive collaboration with Federal partners, 
engagement with industry, and feedback from stakeholders, TSA 
has issued cybersecurity requirements for airports and 
airlines, pipelines, and railroad carriers. TSA has increased 
the number of employees dedicated to cybersecurity in units 
responsible for intelligence, risk analysis, policy 
development, and compliance. Our collective efforts have 
directly contributed to increasing cybersecurity resilience of 
U.S. critical infrastructure.
    Since our urgent creation, TSA has emerged as an agile 
security agency that works with our interagency, State and 
local, international, and industry partners to outmatch the 
dynamic threats to our transportation system. We are proud of 
the agency's evolution and our work force who has made this 
progress possible.
    Chairman Gimenez, Ranking Member Thanedar, and Members of 
the subcommittee, my colleagues and I thank you for the 
opportunity to appear before you today, and we appreciate the 
subcommittee's on-going interest and support of TSA's critical 
security mission. We look forward to your questions.
    [The joint prepared statement of Ms. Fitzmaurice, Ms. 
Scanlon, Mr. Belcher, and Mr. Lorincz follows:]
 Joint Prepared Statement of Stacey Fitzmaurice, Julie Scanlon, Brian 
                       Belcher, and Steve Lorincz
                             March 12, 2024
                              introduction
    Good morning, Chairman Gimenez, Ranking Member Thanedar, and 
distinguished Members of the subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me 
and my Transportation Security Administration (TSA) colleagues to 
testify on the effectiveness of TSA's current organizational structure 
in supporting the agency's critical security mission.
    TSA was created in just 69 days in the wake of the September 11, 
2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. With the signing of the 
Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 on November 19, 2001, 
TSA was statutorily authorized to secure the Nation's transportation 
sector and systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and 
commerce. We are very proud of our workforce and our mission.
    Currently led by Administrator David Pekoske, who is serving his 
second 5-year term as TSA administrator, the agency is continually 
adapting its responses, technologies, and policies to address known and 
potential threats to the Nation's transportation system. TSA 
accomplishes its mission by remaining flexible and resilient, investing 
in our front-line workforce, maintaining and strengthening our 
partnerships with transportation stakeholders and international 
governments to raise global transportation security standards, and 
continuing to drive innovation to remain ahead of emerging threats.
                     tsa modernization act of 2018
    The TSA Modernization Act of 2018 (TSA Modernization Act), enacted 
in October 2018, served as the first and only reauthorization 
legislation since the agency's creation. Among other things, Section 
1905 of the TSA Modernization Act addressed operational leadership and 
organizational issues and Section 1906 directed TSA to conduct an 
agency-wide review to identify and effectuate spending reductions and 
administrative savings that could be achieved by streamlining and 
restructuring TSA divisions.
    In accordance with Sections 1905 and 1906 of the TSA Modernization 
Act, Administrator Pekoske and TSA senior leadership conducted a 
required organizational review, taking into account Congressional and 
industry feedback, and TSA's strategic priorities and goals. On 
December 21, 2018, Administrator Pekoske approved realignment of 
numerous functions within TSA to enhance security effectiveness and 
efficiency of the agency by uniting like functions, reducing 
stovepipes, and promoting unity of effort throughout the organization. 
For example, the realignment:
   Established four distinct organizational pillars within TSA: 
        Operations Support (OS), Security Operations (SO), Enterprise 
        Support (ES), and Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service 
        (LE/FAMS). Each pillar is led by an Executive Assistant 
        Administrator (EAA), who reports directly to the Office of the 
        Administrator.
   Established the Office of the Administrator, which includes 
        the Deputy Administrator and Chief of Staff, along with the 
        offices of Chief Counsel; Chief Finance Office; Civil Rights & 
        Liberties/Office of Traveler Engagement; Diversity, Equity, 
        Inclusion and Accessibility; Inspections; Investigations; 
        Legislative Affairs; Strategic Communications and Public 
        Affairs; and Strategy, Policy Coordination, and Innovation.
   Organized all domestic aviation security, international 
        security, and surface security operations under Security 
        Operations.
   Created the Policy, Plans, and Engagement (PPE) office under 
        Operations Support, responsible for all domestic and 
        international security policy development and industry/
        stakeholder outreach and engagement.
   Established the Enrollment Services and Vetting Programs 
        (ESVP) office under Operations Support to streamline and create 
        efficiency in credentialing and vetting processes.
   Organized multiple operational risk analysis and innovation 
        functions in the Requirements and Capabilities Analysis (RCA) 
        office under Operations Support.
   Consolidated individual Business Management Offices into 
        streamlined Resource Management Offices (RMO) within each 
        pillar.
    These changes better aligned TSA's various functional areas into 
lines of business, minimized duplication of effort, and allowed for 
delegation of authority to the optimum level of decision making. In 
addition, our revised structure created enhanced career paths for 
employees, streamlined processes and procedures, reduced costs by 
consolidating functions and eliminating redundancies, enabled more 
strategic resource allocation, and increased innovation and 
collaboration agency-wide. As a result, TSA is able to more effectively 
manage risk, identify requirements, deploy resources, and assess 
operational outcomes.
                  tsa's strategic priorities and goals
    TSA's vision is to remain an agile, world-class security agency 
embodied by a professional workforce that engages transportation 
security partners and the traveling public to outmatch dynamic threats. 
To accomplish this, TSA implemented a comprehensive governance 
framework that establishes a clear decision-making structure and 
enables TSA to address current and future threats. TSA sets agency 
goals via an end-to-end risk-based, strategic planning process. TSA 
collaborated with stakeholders across the transportation system to 
develop the 2018-2026 TSA Strategy, an 8-year plan highlighting key 
priorities necessary to fulfill TSA's mission.
    To support the TSA Strategy and emphasize and reinforce 
accountability, TSA issued subsequent execution plans called the 
Administrator's Intent. The Administrator's Intent describes short- and 
medium-term objectives to advance TSA toward our strategic priorities. 
The Administrator's Intent, now in its third edition, focuses on 20 
critical issues involving people, partnerships, and technology, and 
builds on TSA successes. Through 2026, TSA's priorities are: investing 
in our front-line workforce; maintaining and strengthening partnerships 
with transportation stakeholders and international partners to raise 
transportation security standards; and continuing technological 
innovation to remain ahead of emerging threats.
    TSA develops Roadmaps, aligned with the Administrator's Intent, on 
specific cross-cutting and emerging topics. Roadmaps articulate the 
agency's vision for approaching these critical areas and enable us to 
work together more effectively with our employees and external partners 
to achieve shared goals and objectives. Currently, TSA has Roadmaps for 
Cybersecurity, LE/FAMS, Insider Threat, Open Architecture, Air Cargo 
Security, Checked Baggage, Identity Management, and Biometrics.
    Additionally, these comprehensive strategic planning activities 
inform TSA's multi-year budget planning process and Capital Investment 
Plan. TSA publishes its Capital Investment Plan annually and it serves 
as our guide for determining and prioritizing future investments 
critical to mission success. The Capital Investment Plan reflects TSA's 
commitment to continuous and sustained investment in transportation 
security equipment, technology, and other capital investments necessary 
to achieve TSA's strategic priorities within the context of its 
operational environment and threat landscape.
    Finally, the TSA Strategy and its supporting Administrator's 
Intent, Roadmaps, and annual Capital Investment Plan, align with 
Departmental and national strategies and plans, such as the National 
Security Strategy, National Strategy for Transportation Security, 
National Strategy for Aviation Security, and the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) Strategic Plan. This strategic alignment ensures TSA's 
plans are cohesive and drive activities to execute our mission.
                   tsa's four organizational pillars
Operations Support
    Operations Support (OS) is led by Executive Assistant Administrator 
(EAA) Stacey Fitzmaurice and provides innovative solutions and 
processes to protect U.S. transportation systems and the traveling 
public. OS has over 1,200 Federal employees spanning 4 program offices. 
The majority of our OS workforce is located in the National Capital 
Region to include TSA Headquarters, the Freedom Center in Virginia, and 
the Annapolis Junction Operations Center in Maryland. Additionally, OS 
employees support TSA's mission from around the world, including 
employees based at the TSA Operations Center in Colorado, Field 
Intelligence Officers located Nation-wide, and International Industry 
Representatives stationed overseas.
    OS encompasses the program offices of Intelligence and Analysis; 
Requirements and Capabilities Analysis; Policy, Plans, and Engagement; 
and Enrollment Services & Vetting Programs. Their responsibilities 
include:
   Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) identifies and mitigates 
        threats to the transportation system by leading intelligence 
        activities and conducting 24/7 vetting operations to inform and 
        support U.S. transportation security stakeholders.
   Requirements and Capabilities Analysis (RCA) strengthens 
        TSA's operational capabilities by analyzing the domestic and 
        international risk landscape, assessing capability gaps to 
        develop user requirements, driving optimal performance through 
        innovation, and testing emerging transportation security 
        technologies.
   Policy, Plans, and Engagement (PPE) develops and coordinates 
        domestic and international multimodal transportation security 
        programs, directives, strategies and initiatives, while 
        overseeing engagement with industry stakeholders and 
        multilateral organizations.
   Enrollment Services & Vetting Programs (ESVP) manages TSA's 
        enrollment, vetting, and credentialing programs; ensures end-
        to-end program management and oversight of technology, 
        operations, and resources supporting TSA's security threat 
        assessment programs; and aligns TSA's enrollment and vetting 
        initiatives with the larger DHS enterprise.
    TSA's operations are intelligence-driven and risk-informed. As a 
result, work performed by OS is integral to all TSA activities and is 
extremely collaborative in nature. For example, I&A and RCA provide 
threat intelligence and risk assessments that inform security policies 
and procedures developed by PPE and ESVP. These policies and procedures 
are then operationalized by Enterprise Support (ES), to develop TSA's 
training programs, and Security Operations and Law Enforcement/Federal 
Air Marshal Service to implement them.
    In addition, RCA establishes detection standards and equipment 
requirements that directly inform actions of Enterprise Support to 
acquire, deploy, and maintain our transportation security equipment and 
technology. RCA also coordinates with our International Operations team 
in Security Operations to harmonize detection standards and testing 
methodologies to expand TSA's efforts to strengthen transportation 
security around the globe.
    Additionally, ESVP ensures a robust network of enrollment locations 
across the United States for individuals to apply for TSA PreCheck, a 
Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), and a Hazardous 
Materials Endorsement (HME). ESVP also leads efforts to successfully 
implement strengthened identity management requirements in the REAL ID 
Act, working closely with Domestic Aviation Operations in Security 
Operations to ensure travelers are REAL ID ready. Finally, every day, 
results of I&A's vetting of passengers helps inform Security 
Operation's domestic screening activities and LE/FAMS coverage.
Security Operations
    Security Operations (SO) is led by EAA Melanie Harvey and is the 
agency's most visible, operational arm. SO is responsible for security 
screening at nearly 440 domestic airports, regulatory compliance in all 
modes of transportation, and ensuring security of flights inbound to 
the United States from over 300 international airports. More than 
51,000 TSA front-line employees serve in SO, working 24/7/365, across 
the globe, to protect people and secure transportation.
    The SO workforce is comprised of Transportation Security Officers 
(TSOs), Lead TSOs, Supervisory TSOs, Explosive Detection Canine 
Handlers, Transportation Security Specialists in Explosives, 
Transportation Security Managers, Transportation Security Inspectors, 
TSA Representatives (TSARs), and support staff.
    In 2023, SO conducted the physical screening of more than 858 
million passengers (averaging over 2.2 million per day), 484 million 
checked bags, and 1.9 billion carry-on items. Security Operations 
prevented individuals from bringing 6,737 firearms into the secure 
areas of the airport and onboard aircraft, of which 93 percent were 
loaded. Internationally, 27 TSARs, 5 regional operations centers, and 
over 50 Transportation Security Specialists work with our foreign 
partners to strengthen international transportation security.
    There are 5 offices under Security Operations: Domestic Aviation 
Operations, International Operations, Operations Management, Surface 
Operations, and Compliance. Their responsibilities include:
   Domestic Aviation Operations manages TSA's security 
        operations at approximately 440 domestic airports, including 
        the security screening checkpoint, checked baggage screening, 
        and air cargo screening.
   International Operations manages TSA's work with our foreign 
        partners to raise the international aviation security baseline 
        by analyzing potential vulnerabilities and threats to drive 
        action to mitigate potential attacks.
   Operations Management oversees Security Operation's budget, 
        the Screening Partnership Program, and the National Deployment 
        Force. Additionally, it provides support services to all 
        Security Operations employees, which includes human resources, 
        logistical support, staffing allocation, emergency 
        preparedness, and standards and directives for the front-line 
        workforce.
   Surface Operations leads TSA's work on surface 
        transportation security including pipeline, highway and motor 
        carrier, mass transit, passenger rail, and freight rail 
        transportation systems. They accomplish this through planning, 
        developing, and implementing strategic, risk-based security 
        programs and activities intended to enhance preparedness and 
        minimize vulnerabilities to reduce the risk of a terrorist 
        attack on a surface transportation asset.
   Compliance, comprised of Transportation Security Inspectors 
        and Transportation Security Specialists, ensures that domestic 
        and international transportation industry entities carry out a 
        broad range of statutory, regulatory, and program security 
        requirements.
    SO works collaboratively with every TSA pillar. For example, SO 
works closely with Operations Support on the creation of policy, 
testing of emerging technology, monitoring, and reporting current 
intelligence threats, and conducting vetting operations of passengers 
prior to arrival at security screening checkpoints or as they 
transition from an international port of arrival. SO works closely with 
Enterprise Support to develop training for our front-line workforce, 
Human Capital policies, and deployment and support of Transportation 
Security Equipment. SO also collaborates with LE/FAMS at both 
headquarters and in the field and assists the FAMS with mitigation of 
insider threats and screening of high-risk passengers.
Enterprise Support
    Enterprise Support (ES) is led by EAA Julie Scanlon and is 
responsible for delivering a wide array of critical support services 
and capabilities necessary for TSA to meet its mission. With a focus on 
making TSA an employer of choice, ES fully supports TSA's mission 
through unparalleled training, thoughtful human capital programs and 
practices, and cutting-edge technology. ES also ensures TSA is 
continuously improving employee morale through accountability, employee 
empowerment, transparent communication, and fostering an inclusive and 
collaborative environment where diversity of experience and thought are 
embraced.
    ES has over 1,700 employees and is comprised of the offices of 
Acquisition Program Management, Contracting and Procurement, Human 
Capital, Information Technology, Operations Management, Security and 
Administrative Services, and Training and Development. Their 
responsibilities include:
   Acquisition Program Management builds TSA's capabilities by 
        managing the acquisition, testing, deployment, and sustainment 
        of security technology and other acquisition programs.
   Contracting & Procurement acquires and maintains TSA's 
        required services, supplies, and technologies by negotiating 
        and awarding procurements and other contractual agreements 
        necessary to support the transportation security mission.
   Human Capital provides strategic, sustainable, and 
        comprehensive programs and services that attract, build, and 
        inspire a talented workforce through positive customer 
        engagements.
   Information Technology provides transformative technology 
        solutions through information technology, information 
        assurance, and information management to secure and safeguard 
        the Nation's transportation systems.
   Operations Management provides strategic and tactical 
        leadership, direction, management, and support services to ES 
        employees and programs in the areas of budgetary and financial 
        management, human resource management, and business operations.
   Security and Administrative Services (SAS) delivers agile 
        and effective security and safety services, and strategic, 
        streamlined property and real estate services and solutions.
   Training and Development creates, delivers, and oversees 
        training for all TSA employees including Transportation 
        Security Officers; Federal Air Marshals; management, 
        administrative and professional employees; canine teams; 
        instructors; inspectors; and other specialists.
    Collaboration is critical for ES to understand customer needs and 
successfully develop, deliver, and maintain solutions. For example, ES 
collaborates with Operations Support to transition requirements into 
solutions. This occurs through a partnership between Acquisition 
Program Management and RCA to manage TSA's acquisition life-cycle 
framework, allowing for faster deployment of solutions to the field, 
fostering capability growth in technology innovation, and maintaining 
equipment performance in the field. ES also collaborates extensively 
with Security Operations and LE/FAMS, on recruitment and hiring, 
training, and various administrative services to ensure our front-line 
workforce is equipped to perform its mission.
Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service
    LE/FAMS is led by EAA Brian Belcher and is responsible for 
conducting protection, response, detection, and assessment activities 
in the transportation system. In furtherance of their core mission and 
based on risk analysis and intelligence, Federal Air Marshals deploy on 
security missions on-board U.S. commercial aircraft world-wide and can 
deploy in response to emergent law enforcement requirements. Federal 
Air Marshals are trained to take decisive action surrounding incidents 
in the transportation domain and are prepared to appropriately respond 
to a variety of situations within aircraft cabin, airport, and surface 
transportation environments.
    In June 2023, TSA published the LE/FAMS Roadmap, which was 
developed with stakeholder input. The LE/FAMS Roadmap lays out the 
mission, vision, and priorities of LE/FAMS in its role as the principal 
Federal law enforcement organization with the Nation's transportation 
system. It contains a strategic vision for LE/FAMS focusing on 
strengthening transportation security by providing greater 
organizational flexibility, improving operational capabilities, and 
enabling a more proactive response to future transportation and 
national security events. The Roadmap outlines LE/FAMS' priorities of 
fostering leadership, innovation, technology, and training to 
strengthen detection, assessment, and response capacities around its 
core mission of in-flight security.
    LE/FAMS is composed of three divisions: Field Operations, Flight 
Operations, and Operations Management. Responsibilities include:
   The Field Operations Division provides direction, 
        leadership, and supervision to 20 Federal Air Marshal Service 
        Field Offices established across the country, ensuring policy 
        and procedures are carried out as intended. Additionally, it is 
        responsible for developing, fostering, and administering 
        programs to include the Visible Intermodal Prevention and 
        Response (VIPR) program, which deploys uniformed Federal Air 
        Marshals throughout the transportation domain in collaboration 
        with local stakeholders.
   The Flight Operations Division is responsible for deployment 
        of Federal Air Marshals on aircraft; daily operational incident 
        management; domain awareness through management of the 
        Transportation Security Operations Center; and management of 
        Federal Air Marshals assigned to multiple Federal law 
        enforcement task forces. Additionally, it manages various 
        flight programs which oversee armed security officer training, 
        builds agency expertise for mitigating risk from unmanned 
        aircraft systems, provides training and subject-matter 
        expertise for vulnerability and risk assessments within the 
        transportation sector, and hosts the TSA Insider Threat 
        Program.
   The Operations Management Division is responsible for 
        providing leadership, management, and support services to LE/
        FAMS headquarters, field programs, and employees in the areas 
        of budget and finance, human resources, logistics, staffing, 
        policy coordination, and organizational performance measures.
    Furthermore, LE/FAMS manages the Federal Flight Deck Officer 
Program and Crew Member Self-Defense Training Program. Under the 
Federal Flight Deck Officer Program, TSA deputizes qualified volunteer 
pilots and flight crewmembers of passenger and cargo aircraft as law 
enforcement officers to defend the flight deck of aircraft against acts 
of criminal violence or air piracy. The Crew Member Self-Defense 
Training Program provides training to airline crew members that 
consists of the same self-defense principles taught to Federal Air 
Marshals and Federal Flight Deck Officers. Techniques learned in the 
Crew Member Self-Defense Training Program aid crew members in defending 
themselves should they encounter an in-flight situation.
    As an integral part of TSA's layered security, LE/FAMS works 
collaboratively with other TSA pillars on a daily basis to successfully 
carry out its mission. For example, LE/FAMS relies upon Intelligence & 
Analysis to inform its risk-based scheduling methodology, prioritizing 
deployments of Federal Air Marshals on flights with the highest-risk 
passengers; works in collaboration with Security Operations to enhance 
security throughout airports and surface environments and address 
field-based emergent and evolving national security priorities; and 
works in partnership with Enterprise Support on various ways to develop 
and support the LE/FAMS workforce to meet TSA's mission.
              tsa's collaborative success and achievements
    By driving integration across the organization, TSA's 2018 
realignment and evolution promotes cohesion, collaboration, innovation, 
and flexibility, enabling the agency to better achieve its 
transportation security mission and strategic priorities. While TSA is 
made up of different offices, programs, and responsibilities, we work 
closely together to achieve our collective mission. Three examples of 
TSA's collaborative success include implementation of TSA's new pay 
plan, cybersecurity, and our response to rising passenger volumes.
Increased Pay for the TSA Workforce
    Attrition among TSA's front-line workforce reached a peak of nearly 
20 percent per year in 2018 and 2019, due in large part to a 
compensation plan that resulted in employees receiving an average of 30 
percent less than other Federal employees. Recognizing that no agency 
can function efficiently with such high turnover, TSA's top priority 
became increasing employee pay to ensure pay is commensurate with 
Federal Government counterparts. Appropriately compensating all TSA 
employees is essential to improving recruitment, retention, morale, and 
the employee experience and is fundamental to ensuring transportation 
security. Thanks to the support of Congress, the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act of 2023 provided initial funding to place all non-
executive TSA employees on a compensation system commensurate with 
their Federal Government counterparts.
    To successfully implement TSA's new compensation system, Enterprise 
Support took the lead working with all pillars to establish policy, 
provide training, and process thousands of associated personnel 
actions. ES equipped each program office and airport to issue over 
62,000 forecast letters to TSA employees with their new salary upon the 
onset of the plan. Leveraging chief financial officer and resource 
management offices across the agency, these critical letters were 
created based on the team's development of a TSA employee master pay 
file, which included current pay, projected new pay, and the next 
scheduled pay increase. Local Human Resource specialists around the 
country went line-by-line reviewing every letter to ensure accuracy.
    The letters were delivered in April 2023, to the entire TSA 
workforce, with an accuracy rate of over 99 percent (fewer than 100 
employees needed adjustments). Success was directly due to team 
collaboration and tireless work verifying the accuracy of each case.
    TSA's new compensation system has a direct impact on TSA's ability 
to accomplish our mission. We have seen a rise in retention, 
recruiting, and hiring. TSA's attrition dropped from nearly 20 percent 
to about 11 percent. With improved employee retention, TSA is able to 
be more selective in hiring, moving from needing to hire over 11,000 
TSOs in 2018 to only needing to hire 9,000 TSOs in 2023 to keep up with 
attrition and increased passenger volumes. Furthermore, as reflected in 
TSA's 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) scores, 
implementation of TSA's new compensation plan improved the agency's 
morale and overall employee satisfaction.
Cybersecurity
    The transportation sector is facing a growing prevalence of cyber 
threats from nation-states, cyber criminals, terrorist groups, and 
hacktivists. These adversaries aim to exploit cyber vulnerabilities 
within the transportation sector to cause economic harm and/or to 
disrupt, destroy, or interfere with delivery of essential goods and 
services. A rise in criminal and nation-state cyber threats 
necessitated an increased focus on the cybersecurity of transportation 
systems and TSA's organizational pillars collaborate closely to respond 
to these cyber threats.
    In 2018, TSA published its Cybersecurity Roadmap, which aims to 
guide our collective efforts to prioritize cybersecurity measures 
within TSA and the transportation system. The Cybersecurity Roadmap 
defines clear pathways to integrate and improve TSA's cybersecurity 
posture, safeguard the Nation's transportation systems, and build TSA's 
capacity to meet the ever-changing cybersecurity environment through 
smart investments and collaborative partnerships.
    Following extensive collaboration with Federal partners, engagement 
with industry, and feedback from stakeholders, TSA issued cybersecurity 
requirements for airport and aircraft operators, pipelines, and 
railroad carriers as part of DHS's efforts to increase cybersecurity 
resilience of U.S. critical infrastructure. These require TSA-regulated 
entities to develop and take measures to improve their cybersecurity 
resilience and prevent disruption and degradation to infrastructure. 
Regulations are performance-based and variable according to the risk 
profile and capability of the entity.
    Through various policy initiatives and in consultation with 
industry partners, Operations Support led the development of these 
requirements. Security Operations established the Security Operations 
Cybersecurity Inspection Teams to assist regulated parties in 
developing and implementing plans responsive to new cybersecurity 
requirements. Enterprise Support drove significant hiring and training 
initiatives required to form and support teams working with industry 
partners. By working across organizational pillars, TSA increased the 
number of employees dedicated to cybersecurity in units responsible for 
intelligence, risk analysis, policy development, and compliance. TSA is 
actively collaborating with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure 
Security Agency to execute both voluntary and regulatory initiatives to 
enhance cybersecurity resilience of transportation systems. TSA 
continues to issue non-regulatory guidance and training assistance for 
all modes of transportation to enhance preparedness and reduce risks 
associated with cyber attacks.
Increased Passenger Volume
    Impacts of TSA's realignment, improved organizational 
effectiveness, and constant collaboration is evident as TSA responds to 
changes in passenger volume. Over the last 4 years, TSA experienced 
significant fluctuations in passenger volumes--from record lows 
observed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, to record highs 
last year. Throughout this period, TSA worked collaboratively to 
rapidly respond to changing passenger volume by adjusting our staffing, 
procedures, and transportation security equipment and technology, 
leveraging TSA's new organizational structure to great effect.
    Nowhere is the effectiveness and agility of this structure more 
apparent than in our response to passenger volume changes during COVID-
19 and their subsequent post-COVID-19 rise in passenger volumes. 
Increased risk to TSA's front-line workforce during COVID-19 required 
TSA to re-evaluate our capabilities and training, while ensuring the 
front-line workforce was able to safely provide effective security. 
With Operations Support's help, subject-matter experts in risk, policy, 
and traveler vetting, Security Operations rapidly evaluated the 
changing risk environment and responded with agility.
    While COVID-19 significantly reduced passenger volume across the 
country, it also imposed new barriers to customer communication and 
experience, impacted staffing, and created urgent procurement and 
acquisition requirements. Working in close partnership with Enterprise 
Support, Security Operations accelerated delivery of newly-designed 
training to counter pandemic risks to TSA's front-line workforce and 
deployed Plexiglas screens, signage, and personal protective equipment. 
All these efforts protected the traveling public, TSA's front-line 
workforce, and our industry partners.
    Today TSA is faced with unprecedented passenger volumes in the 
opposite direction. Seven of our top 10 busiest days of all time were 
in 2023 and we expect to see over 3 million passengers on a single day 
at some point this year. Security Operations continues to work together 
with TSA's other pillars to plan, design, develop, procure, test, 
validate, and execute a whole host of innovative solutions in response 
to rising passenger volumes. Despite the numbers, TSA's ability to 
reliably count on experts from purpose-built organizational pillars, 
continues to provide effective security and resilience across the 
Nation's transportation system.
                               conclusion
    More than 20 years after TSA's urgent creation in the wake of the 
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, TSA has 
emerged as an agile security agency that works with our interagency, 
State and local, international, and industry partners to outmatch 
dynamic threats to the transportation system. This evolving threat 
environment emphasizes the importance of intelligence sharing and 
domain awareness to facilitate rapid threat warning, timely deployment 
of protection measures, coordination of security resources, and 
activation of responders.
    While it is impossible to predict every threat TSA will face in the 
future, our organization is prepared to address emerging threats with 
agility, high domain awareness, and decisive action. TSA is proud of 
our evolution and our workforce who made this progress possible while 
serving our country every day with integrity, commitment, and respect.
    We appreciate this subcommittee's on-going interest in and support 
of TSA's critical national security mission. We look forward to 
continuing to work with you to help ensure TSA remains an effective and 
agile force in the face of emerging threats to our transportation 
system. Chairman Gimenez, Ranking Member Thanedar, and Members of the 
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. 
My colleagues and I look forward to your questions.

    Chairman Gimenez. Thank you, Ms. Fitzmaurice. I now 
recognize Executive Assistant Administrator Julie Scanlon for 5 
minutes to summarize her opening statements.

STATEMENT OF JULIE SCANLON, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, 
                    ENTERPRISE SUPPORT, TSA

    Ms. Scanlon. Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to 
speak today. I have the privilege of leading TSA's enterprise 
support, which lays the foundation for the entirety of TSA's 
work force of nearly 64,000 employees, both domestically and 
internationally. My pillar ensures that staffing remains 
healthy and employees are trained. Additionally, I oversee the 
acquisition programs, contract and procurement, TSA real estate 
across the United States, as well as developing, securing, and 
sustaining information technology capabilities. Thanks to the 
expertise and hard work and dedication of my work force, I know 
that TSA is ready with the capabilities needed to operate and 
secure the Nation's transportation system. I thank you for 
having us today and look forward to your questions.
    Chairman Gimenez. That was brief. Thank you, Ms. Scanlon. I 
now recognize Executive Assistant Administrator Brian Belcher 
for 5 minutes to summarize his opening statements. You don't 
have to take 5 minutes, just like Ms. Scanlon did.

      STATEMENT OF BRIAN C. BELCHER, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 
  ADMINISTRATOR, DIRECTOR FOR THE LAW ENFORCEMENT/FEDERAL AIR 
                      MARSHAL SERVICE, TSA

    Mr. Belcher. Good morning. Thank you, and I will not be 
taking 5 minutes. Thank you for having me here today. I 
appreciate the opportunity to come and talk to you about TSA 
and the Federal Air Marshal Service.
    As you said, I am the executive assistant administrator for 
law enforcement, Federal Air Marshal Service at TSA. I'm 
responsible for the deployment of our Federal Air Marshals 
across the country and around the world, ensuring safety on the 
aircraft. I also am responsible for our Transportation Security 
Operations Center and the intake of all the information 
regarding transportation issues around the world. I oversee the 
Federal Flight Deck Officer program, the Crew Member Self-
Defense program, and TSA's Insider Threat program. I'm honored 
to be here today, and I look forward to your questions.
    Chairman Gimenez. Thank you, Mr. Belcher. I now recognize 
Deputy Executive Assistant Administrator Steve Lorincz for 5 
minutes to summarize his opening statement.

    STATEMENT OF STEVE LORINCZ, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT 
            ADMINISTRATOR, SECURITY OPERATIONS, TSA

    Mr. Lorincz. Good morning and thank you very much for 
having me here. It truly is an honor and a privilege, first of 
all, to be in front of you today and represent, really, the 
operational arm of TSA. As you see behind me, some of our 
front-line officers within the portfolio of security 
operations, I have the privilege to work with and walk next to 
some amazing people. Within our portfolio, our largest 
organization is our domestic aviation operations, which is our 
front-line employees that you interact with on a regular basis. 
I oversee international operations and oversee the last-point-
of-departures around the world. I oversee surface operations in 
all aspects within that space. I oversee our compliance 
department that interacts not only with aviation and our cargo 
folks, and I have the privilege to oversee our operations 
management group. We have two senior liaisons within our office 
that also interacts with CISA and also interacts with State 
Department.
    It truly is an honor and privilege to be here. I appreciate 
the invite. I look forward to answering your questions. Thank 
you.
    Chairman Gimenez. Thank you, Mr. Lorincz. Members will be 
recognized by order of seniority for their 5 minutes of 
questioning. I recognize myself for 5 minutes of questioning.
    I don't know who can answer this question, but what is the 
percentage of people that are on the ground actually doing the 
work, screening, et cetera, et cetera, versus the people that 
are at headquarters or work as a support for the organization? 
So, in other words, who are the--there is always percentage, 
and I look at that as an indicator whether somebody is too top-
heavy or not. So what is that percentage of people on the 
ground, people, and then the people supporting?
    Ms. Scanlon. I'll take that question, sir. We have 95 
percent of our work force is front-line. So that includes the 
screening personnel that you see at the airports, the canine 
handlers, the compliance inspectors, our intel staff, our 
vetting staff, ensuring that the traveling--people traveling 
are who they are and that they are vetted appropriately. We 
have 5 percent, is what we believe, is our headquarters or what 
you can refer to as overhead to support that field operation.
    Chairman Gimenez. OK. That is a good number, actually. For 
bureaucracies, that is actually not a bad number. In terms of 
payroll to benefits, the percentage of benefits on top of the 
salaries, what percentage is that? Your benefits on top of your 
salaries?
    Ms. Scanlon. Out of our total budget, 76 percent of it goes 
toward salary and benefits. Of that, 33 percent of our salary 
includes the benefit. So----
    Chairman Gimenez. Thirty-three percent?
    Ms. Scanlon [continuing]. Thirty-three percent.
    Chairman Gimenez. OK, fair enough. On the air marshals, Mr. 
Belcher, you control the air marshals?
    Mr. Belcher. Yes, sir, I do.
    Chairman Gimenez. Do you have enough air marshals?
    Mr. Belcher. We are able to meet our needs with the air 
marshals we have. With more air marshals we would do more, 
obviously, but we are at a point where we are meeting our 
critical needs.
    Chairman Gimenez. OK, that is pretty evasive. Do you have 
an air marshal on every flight?
    Mr. Belcher. No, sir, we do not.
    Chairman Gimenez. So you must have a process to pick it 
when the air marshals do their thing. Have you ever thought 
about utilizing law enforcement, other law enforcement 
agencies, to do that?
    Mr. Belcher. Specifically thought--I'm in favor of having 
other law enforcement officers on planes, and I think there's 
never a reason not to have that. I think if we were to try and 
utilize them specifically to perform air marshal-like 
functions, there should be some sort of at least 
familiarization or some level--I don't think it would be 
significant----
    Chairman Gimenez. No, I agree with that.
    Mr. Belcher [continuing]. Level of training, so they could 
understand the environment they're operating in.
    Chairman Gimenez. I agree with that. One of the things that 
we have talked about is the diversion of the passenger security 
fee and the slow pace of implementing some of the new 
technologies. The pace right now says that you are going to be 
implementing some new technologies by the 2040's. By the 
2040's, that new technology isn't new technology anymore. How 
agile is your organization in implementing new technologies, 
and how can we help you implement these new technologies 
faster? I know money is an issue. OK. But are there other ways 
that we can help you implementing, researching new technology 
that is going to come? How you can put that new technology on-
line as quickly as possible. Are there any things that we can 
do in Congress to help you out?
    Ms. Scanlon. Thank you, sir, for that question.
    So, as you stated, at our current funding level through our 
appropriations, our checkpoint funding is approximately $80 
million. So, that will take us through 2049 to get our computed 
tomography, CT, machines out there in 2042 to get our 
credential authentication technology out to the airports that 
we need them to be in. Currently, we have vendors ready to 
excel the delivery of that system. We have the mechanisms in 
place and, if we had the appropriate funding, we could get all 
of our equipment deployed between now and 2029.
    The new technology, we work very closely with Stacey's 
shop. They are continually looking at new technologies, working 
with our science and technology branch, as well as working with 
vendors to look at those emerging threats and to try and 
develop algorithms and technology to make sure that we are 
equipped.
    Chairman Gimenez. Thank you, Ms. Scanlon. My time is up.
    I now recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Thanedar.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you, Chairman Gimenez.
    Now, Congress must ensure that TSA receives sufficient 
funding to maintain increased pay, collective bargaining 
rights, as well as necessary staffing levels and technology 
investment. So we understand the attrition rate is, what, 
around 20 percent?
    Ms. Fitzmaurice. It was around 20 percent.
    Mr. Thanedar. Now it is 11.
    Ms. Fitzmaurice. It's been reduced to 11, yes, sir.
    Mr. Thanedar. Now it is 11, which is great. Which is great. 
Certainly, pay increases is a big issue there. Having those 
collective bargaining rights is a big issue. What other issues 
there might be? So is there a process where you conduct exit 
interviews when staff leaves and have you tabulated, compiled 
any information to understand what are the nonpay, 
noncompensation issues that may be affecting the turnover?
    Ms. Scanlon. So, we do ask our employees to take an exit 
interview, exit survey as they leave. Pay was the No. 1 in 2022 
and early 2023. It has dropped to, like, the No. 3 reason, I 
believe, on the exit surveys on why employees leave. The first 
would be a different career field, career choice. The second 
would be probably the environment.
    I haven't specifically looked at those survey results, but 
with an 11 percent attrition, we're well within normal 
attrition for other Federal agencies. Last pay period, our 
attrition was down to 10.4 percent for our screening work force 
specifically.
    So, we believe that the pay compensation system that 
Congress granted to us last year at the fourth quarter, we so 
appreciate it. We have seen an increase in morale with 
employees. We have seen a more stable work force. We have seen 
a more focused work force. They don't have to worry about 
getting to that second and third job.
    So, those are some of the tangible benefits that we've seen 
with that pay increase. So thank you so much for giving us that 
last year.
    Mr. Thanedar. Now, we also have seen in some other Federal 
agencies, Federal employees, especially Federal employees that 
have a very stressful environment, that there are, you know, 
stress issues, mental health issues. Have you seen any of that 
in either the exit interviews or just feedback that you get 
from your TSA employees in terms of stress, mental illness? Is 
that something that we have seen more or less since COVID? What 
do you know about that?
    Ms. Scanlon. So, I would say that there have always been 
stressful times at the checkpoint for our front-line personnel. 
I would say now that we have the pay compensation plan, some of 
those external stresses have alleviated, but we are very 
concerned about the mental health of our employees. We are 
concerned about the suicides that are happening, it seems, in 
every occupation a little more frequently. So, we do have a 
gatekeeper program that we have instituted and we have also 
trained approximately 3,000 of our employees across TSA and we 
will continue to do that.
    We also have a program with the Federal air marshals if you 
want to expound upon that, Brian. But working together, we 
believe that we're getting the tools and resources to our 
employees that they need.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you. My time is running out, so I am 
going to be quick here. But Politico recently reported that 
Senator Ted Cruz is requiring TSA to provide some special 
treatment for Members of Congress and Federal judges and all 
kinds of staff. I am not for it. I think a system should be 
developed that should be good enough for the people as well as 
Members of Congress and I don't think Members of Congress needs 
any special treatment at TSA points. But if such a system were 
to be implemented, what would be the cost and burden on TSA?
    Mr. Lorincz. I can take that question, sir. So, first of 
all, I think it's important to understand that this would be a 
mission change for TSA. I think it's also important to 
understand that at this point, our transportation security 
officers are not law enforcement individuals. There's safety 
issues that we need to kind-of work through to make sure that 
we understand that.
    One thing that we have done some rough analysis. So, we 
will provide a get-back on this, but there would be significant 
cost burdens associated with moving this forward.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you so much. My time is up. I yield 
back.
    Chairman Gimenez. Thank you to the Ranking Member. I find 
it funny because I usually get special treatment. I usually get 
scanned twice.
    Mr. Thanedar. Me, too.
    Chairman Gimenez. Randomly, yes.
    The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Louisiana, Mr. 
Higgins.
    Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    It is important that we get this right because the American 
people are touched by air travel on a regular basis. So, I am 
going to use some round numbers and I am hopeful that either 
the panel as a whole or individually, you can respond and 
clarify. Does TSA handle about 850 million passengers a year? 
Is that roughly accurate?
    Mr. Lorincz. Yes, sir. In 2023, we processed over 850 
million passengers. Thank you.
    Mr. Higgins. OK. So, again, I am using round numbers, sir. 
Because air travel is increasing, it picked back up from COVID, 
getting back to pre-COVID levels and beyond. People are excited 
to be able to travel again. So there are 850 million people 
buying passenger tickets, buying tickets. When we buy a ticket, 
we pay a security fee. It is $5.60 for a one-way trip, so we 
don't even notice it. We look on-line, we find a least 
expensive ticket, you know, with the best seat on whatever 
airline we prefer. We choose from 2 or 3, according to airports 
we can use. We are just trying to get to where we are going. 
Trust me, there is no Americans out there making a decision on 
buying a ticket based upon a $5.60 security fee. But as an 
American, call us crazy, we would think that a security fee 
might be used for security. Just putting that out there as a 
wild thought.
    So, you got 850 million people paying a minimum of $5.60 
because it is $11.20 for a round-trip ticket. So let's just use 
minimal numbers. That is $4.7 billion. Is that about accurate? 
You are collecting somewhere between $4- and $5 billion in the 
TSA security fee from individual airline tickets with 850 
million travelers? Is that roughly correct?
    I am not trying to put anybody on the spot. We are trying 
to get to the reality here that TSA should almost be self-
funded, and Americans would think that that would be the case. 
But this money is being diverted. At some point in this town, a 
decision was made, let's just take that money from its intended 
purpose and move it over here. The Americans, like, didn't 
notice that this had happened.
    But you have got to be able to hire and retain quality 
people in TSA. You can't have people paid below the standard 
levels of a similar job performance at another Federal agency 
and think they are going to stay, because they are not. They 
are going to get some experience, some time on a job, they are 
going to roll to the next job because they have their own 
families they are trying to support.
    So, ladies and gentlemen, may I submit to you that there 
are men and women on this committee on both sides of the aisle, 
and my colleague, Mr. LaLota here, kind-of cracked open this 
case earlier last year and said, we have to fix this. We stand 
together to try to take that entire security fee and return it 
to the agency that is supposed to be using it, to return it to 
the purpose that Americans believe we are paying for when we 
pay the $5.60, when we buy a one-way ticket.
    So, the entire annual budget for TSA is about $11 billion. 
You should essentially be self-funding roughly half of your 
entire annual budget. We are going to fight to make that 
happen.
    My goodness, I am going to have to learn to speak as fast 
as my New York colleagues.
    Mr. Belcher, it is good to see you again. As you know, I 
have requested, quite officially and professionally, some 
documentation from the Federal Air Marshal Services, and I have 
been waiting on that for about 2 months. I am prayerful that 
you will bring some sense of urgency back to your staff that I 
would like to get the documentation that I have requested. Can 
I count on you to at least address that with your officer?
    Mr. Belcher. Yes, sir, you can. It is good to see you as 
well. But I have been, I know we're running time, you should 
have the answer in about a week is what I've been told just 
this morning.
    Mr. Higgins. I appreciate your attention to that matter.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield.
    Chairman Gimenez. The gentleman yields back. Security fee 
for security, what a concept.
    The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. 
Payne.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    My good friend from Louisiana, where do they use that? 
Where is it diverted? Do you----
    Mr. Higgins. A lot of it goes to the General Treasury. So, 
the TSA is getting a piece of it, I think $250 million or 
something like that. But it is not nearly enough to operate, so 
they need technology and they need the money that the Americans 
believe when we purchase a ticket, that is the purpose it is 
going for, sir.
    Mr. Payne. Very so.
    Mr. Higgins. I yield.
    Mr. Payne. I would be willing to work with you on that to 
make sure that happens.
    I have been a true proponent since my arrival here on the 
committee about this whole issue around compensation for TSA's 
front-line workers. It was abominable. It was terrible. It was 
horrific when I arrived here in 2012. So I am glad that we are 
finally seeing some parity brought back to TSA.
    It makes no sense for the job that the front line is asked 
to do, that they are undercompensated. It makes no sense. We 
ask them to do a job, a job that is stressful, a job that is 
important, a job that you need the highest quality people to be 
involved in. Yet, and still, they have a job that they can't 
feed their families on one salary. It doesn't make sense, but 
it looks like we are rectifying that. So I am very proud to 
have had a little part in doing that.
    You know, knock on wood, since 9/11, the same group of 
individuals have kept us safe in the air. So for that, I want 
to say thank you once again.
    You know, Newark Liberty International Airport, which is in 
my district, I live 5 minutes from there, is a critical hub for 
air travel, serving thousands of passengers every day. Just 
last year, the TSA screened over 21.9 million passengers at 
that airport. That is a 14 percent increase in the passenger 
volumes from the year prior, which is above the national 
average. This year, passenger volumes are already 3.8 percent 
higher than 2023 and demand is likely to keep growing in the 
coming years. The 1,449 hardworking TSA officers at the airport 
serve as a backbone for security operations.
    Ms. Scanlon, thank you for highlighting how pay raises have 
improved employee retention and morale, allowing the TSA to be 
more selective in their hiring processes. I would like to dive 
deeper into the benefits of improved retention. What kind of 
impact does it have on security operations when you have a more 
experienced, well-trained, and are able to retain your work 
force for longer periods?
    Mr. Lorincz. Thank you for that question.
    Mr. Payne. I am sorry, I shouldn't have asked Ms. Scanlon? 
Whoever.
    Mr. Lorincz. I could take a quick stab at that, sir.
    So, first of all, thank you. It has a tremendous impact to 
have a well-trained work force, making sure that we process, 
you know, a lot of passengers that are coming at us. Yesterday 
is a good example, sir. We had an average day at TSA. We 
processed 2.5 million passengers. We detected 17 firearms, most 
of those are loaded. So, the security value, the work that our 
employees do, the TSA's compensation package has a tremendous 
impact.
    The experience of the work force to make sure that they 
understand technology, they understand processes, there's a 
learning curve associated when you hire, when you on-board 
people within the organization. So, to your question, I 
appreciate the support from each and every one of you as far as 
the compensation package. I appreciate the work that's being 
done by this committee to take care of our people, but also 
invest in security to keep our country safe.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you. I will yield back, sir.
    Chairman Gimenez. The gentleman yields.
    The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from New York, Mr. 
LaLota.
    Mr. LaLota. So, it is not always fun to go last at a 
hearing like this, but my colleagues have done me a favor in 
teeing up a couple of the issues about which I wanted to speak.
    The two main issues are the underfunding of staff at the 
TSA and the difficulties that result from it in recruiting and 
retaining employees, and the passenger security fee. I 
appreciate each of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle, 
be it Democrats from New Jersey or Michigan, or Republicans 
from Florida or Louisiana, or myself from New York. We 
understand this issue and we are tackling it from a bipartisan 
perspective.
    Me, myself, I am a New Yorker. I represent the eastern part 
of Long Island, and 9/11 is in our hearts and minds, I would 
like to say a little more than most of the Nation on a given 
day, though I appreciate the support of the entire country for 
post-9/11 efforts in my home State. The passenger security fee 
is also called the 
9/11 security fee, which is why it offends me even more when 
funds get diverted from the passenger security fee for things 
having nothing to do whatsoever with passenger security. It 
goes to the general fund and pays down the debt, which is in 
and of itself a good thing, but we shouldn't use a false name 
and lure people into paying $11.20 a round trip in the name of 
passenger security and certainly in the name of 9/11 when about 
a third of the funds don't go there.
    On 9/11, we made a commitment and we said that we would 
never forget and we would never forget to ensure that Americans 
were safe in their homes, in their workplaces, and on air 
travel. We said that we would fight countries, terrorist 
groups, and make our own air travel more safe. So how do we, 
two decades later, fulfill that promise?
    While there are broader issues with respect to the DOD 
keeping our adversaries at bay and our intelligence communities 
listening and anticipating what our adversaries are doing and 
thinking, there is a matter of physical security at our own 
airports, which is a key component of the post-9/11, how do we 
keep America safe? To that point, I am increasingly concerned 
that we are failing to meet the moment.
    The TSA administrator was in the seats that you are in 
right now not too long ago, and told this committee that based 
on past, present, and current and projected funding, it won't 
be until 25 years from now, in the year 2049, that TSA will 
meet its full operational capability for credential 
authentication technology, CAT machines, and 18 years from now, 
in 2042, that we will meet the standard for checkpoint property 
screening systems, including computing tomography. To put those 
delays in perspective, a baby born today will be old enough to 
vote and/or rent a car before these standards are met. Mr. 
Lorincz, is that acceptable to you, sir?
    Mr. Lorincz. Speaking to--first of all, thank you for the 
question. Speaking for our employees and the employees that are 
working a front line, from a security effectiveness, we need 
the best technology out there to make sure that we stay ahead 
of the threat. It's challenging when you have different 
technologies, that's a certain airport, not only from a 
passenger experience, from a security effectiveness piece, but 
also from a training piece. So your support, continued support 
from this committee is greatly appreciated.
    Mr. LaLota. While those anticipated meeting of those 
requirements are decades on the horizon, does that problem get 
exacerbated as technology becomes more prevalent, as technology 
advances become better? Does that 18- and 25-year delay become 
worse as technology get better?
    Ms. Scanlon. If you don't mind, I will answer that. Yes, of 
course it does. We are continually researching, with Stacey's 
requirements and capabilities group, the new and emerging 
threats and the technology and the algorithms that will meet 
that threat, and that we won't be able to deploy that 
technology is of a concern.
    Mr. LaLota. Great. I only have about a half-a-minute left, 
and I would like for each of you, hopefully yes or no, but if 
you have to go into it shortly, just to answer this question. 
Is it a good idea for Congress to examine the passenger 
security fee and rightfully put those funds where we are 
telling Americans they should go, to bona fide passenger 
security? Yes or no? Should Congress endeavor to amend that 
mistake and to focus those fees where they are intended? We'll 
start with Ms.----
    Ms. Scanlon. Yes.
    Ms. Fitzmaurice. Yes, I believe it's important. Thank you.
    Mr. Belcher. I agree. Yes, it's important.
    Mr. Lorincz. Absolutely.
    Mr. LaLota. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With four yeses, I 
yield back.
    Chairman Gimenez. If you have a couple of questions, I will 
extend your time if you want to do that.
    Mr. LaLota. That was the grand finale, Chairman.
    Chairman Gimenez. Excuse me?
    Mr. LaLota. That was the grand finale.
    Chairman Gimenez. Very good. OK. Thank you.
    I want to thank the witnesses for their valuable testimony 
and the Members for their questions. The Members of the 
subcommittee may have some additional questions for the 
witnesses, and we would ask the witnesses to respond to these 
in writing. Pursuant to committee rule VII(D), the hearing 
record will be held open for 10 days. Without objection, the 
subcommittee stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 10:52 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]



                            A P P E N D I X

                              ----------                              

 Question From Honorable Carlos Gimenez for the Department of Homeland 
                                Security
    Question. Ms. Fitzmaurice, Section 103 of the TSA Modernization Act 
directs TSA to appoint an individual responsible for the development 
and oversight of a unified effort regarding risk-based security 
policies. This individual reports directly to you. We have heard some 
concerns from industry that the agency has moved away from risk-based 
security policy and is now promulgating new requirements based on 
theoretical future risk. Does TSA still use risk as the determining 
factor for issuance of new security requirements and how are these 
risks conveyed to industry?
    Here is the relevant excerpt from the TSA Modernization Act, Sec. 
103(w)(2)(C): ``Security policy and industry engagement and planning, 
including the development, interpretation, promotion, and oversight of 
a unified effort regarding risk-based, risk-reducing security policies 
and plans (including strategic planning for future contingencies and 
security challenges) between government and transportation 
stakeholders, including airports, domestic and international airlines, 
general aviation, air cargo, mass transit and passenger rail, freight 
rail, pipeline, highway and motor carriers, and maritime.''
    Answer. Yes, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) bases 
its security policy and strategic planning on both current risk and 
anticipated future risk, as required by the TSA Modernization Act. In 
response to Section 103(w)(2)(C), Administrator Pekoske incorporated an 
objective under his Administrator's Intent 1.0 requiring security 
policies to be risk-based. The Administrator's Intent 2.0 added an 
objective requiring security policies to be outcome-focused. This 
strengthens the need for TSA to collaborate with internal and external 
stakeholders throughout the development process. Most recently, the 
Administrator's Intent 3.0 added an objective of collaboration with 
stakeholders to assess the effectiveness of security policy and 
compliance activities, including the examination of security data, to 
proactively identify opportunities for security improvement as part of 
``Risk-based, Outcome-focused Security.'' Throughout the security 
policy development process there are collaborative engagement 
activities with industry to ensure the requirements will be effective 
and sustainable.
    TSA generally obtains input through the Aviation Security Advisory 
Committee, a statutorily-created committee exempt from the requirements 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), and through its 
regulatory notice and comment process. Additionally, TSA obtains input 
from individual stakeholders, consistent with FACA requirements, 
through policy discussions with the Airport Security Review group and 
with the Policy and Plans Working Group (PPWG).\1\ TSA notes that it 
has an extensive body of policies covering all modes of transportation, 
and TSA's long-standing regulatory requirements for aviation 
stakeholders generally are outcome-focused. As the executive assistant 
administrator for operations support, I report directly to 
Administrator Pekoske and have been designated by him as the Senior 
Executive Service (SES) member responsible for carrying out the 
requirements of Section 103(w)(2)(C). I lead the 3 TSA offices that 
together formulate and issue risk-based security policies and also 
engage with industry during and after the development of such policies. 
These offices are led by SES member assistant administrators. First, 
the Policy, Plans, and Engagement office is responsible for drafting 
proposed risk-based security policies, coordinating such policies with 
other TSA offices, engaging with industry, and issuing the risk-based 
security policy to regulated parties.\2\ Second, the Requirements and 
Capabilities Analysis office is responsible for conducting strategic 
and operational risk analysis activities. These analyses help inform 
future planning and resource allocation; seek to avoid a ``failure of 
imagination'' as referenced by the 9/11 Commission; and provide a risk 
review of proposed security policies. The third office, Intelligence 
and Analysis is responsible for reviewing any threat-based intelligence 
information to be considered as part of TSA's risk analysis when 
formulating security policies. Intelligence and Analysis also routinely 
meets with industry to disseminate information on threats to 
transportation security at the un-Classified and, when feasible, 
Classified level.
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    \1\ The Airport Security Review, formerly referred to as the 
Quarterly Airport Security Review, is comprised of multiple TSA 
offices, 6 to 8 Federalized airports, and both the American Association 
of Airport Executives and the Airports Council International--North 
America. The PPWG is primarily comprised of Airlines for America and 
member airlines and multiple TSA offices. Both working groups are non-
decision-making bodies and may only share industry perspectives.
    \2\ Domestic aircraft operators under 49 Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) part 1544; Foreign air carriers under 49 CFR part 
1546; Airport operators under 49 CFR part 1542; Freight rail owner/
operators under 49 CFR part 1580; Mass transit and passenger rail 
operations under 49 CFR part 1582; and Over-the-road bus companies 
under 49 CFR part 1584.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Together, these three offices conduct a robust review of all 
available information when formulating options for risk-based security 
policies to be reviewed by TSA senior leadership. Our collaboration is 
not limited to these 3 offices. The Office of Chief Counsel also 
reviews security policies for enforceability and legal sufficiency. 
Additionally, the Office of Security Operations reviews security 
policies to ensure they are enforceable by the team of inspectors under 
her leadership, and also seeks to identify vulnerabilities in current 
security.

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