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


                 AN EXAMINATION OF THE TRANSPORTATION 
                 SECURITY ADMINISTRATION'S FISCAL YEAR 
                 2025 BUDGET

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

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                            SUBCOMMITTEE ON
                  TRANSPORTATION AND MARITIME SECURITY

                                 OF THE

                     COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                              MAY 15, 2024

                               __________

                           Serial No. 118-64

                               __________

       Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
                                     

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

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                     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           Eric Swalwell, California
Carlos A. Gimenez, Florida           J. Luis Correa, California
August Pfluger, Texas                Troy A. Carter, Louisiana
Andrew R. Garbarino, New York        Shri Thanedar, Michigan
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia      Seth Magaziner, Rhode Island
Tony Gonzales, Texas                 Glenn Ivey, Maryland
Nick LaLota, New York                Daniel S. Goldman, New York
Mike Ezell, Mississippi              Robert Garcia, California
Anthony D'Esposito, New York         Delia C. Ramirez, Illinois
Laurel M. Lee, Florida               Robert Menendez, New Jersey
Morgan Luttrell, Texas               Thomas R. Suozzi, New York
Dale W. Strong, Alabama              Timothy M. Kennedy, 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               Robert Garcia, California
Mark E. Green, MD, Tennessee (ex     Timothy M. Kennedy, New York
    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

                                Witness

Mr. David P. Pekoske, Administrator, U.S. Department of Homeland 
  Security, Transportation Security Administration:
  Oral Statement.................................................     7
  Prepared Statement.............................................     9

                             For the Record

The Honorable Troy A. Carter, a Representative in Congress From 
  the State of Louisiana:
  Letter From Sheriff Joseph P. Lopinto, III.....................    19

                                Appendix

Questions From Chairman Carlos A. Gimenez for David P. Pekoske...    31

 
 AN EXAMINATION OF THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION'S FISCAL 
                            YEAR 2025 BUDGET

                              ----------                              


                        Wednesday, May 15, 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 2:40 p.m., in 
room 310, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Carlos A. Gimenez 
[Chairman of the subcommittee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Gimenez, LaLota, Thanedar, and 
Kennedy.
    Also present: Representative Carter.
    Mr. 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.
    The purpose of this hearing is to examine the priorities of 
TSA's budget request for fiscal year 2025. I would like to 
thank our distinguished witness, Administrator David Pekoske, 
for joining us today.
    Without objection, the gentleman from Louisiana, Mr. 
Carter, is permitted to sit with the subcommittee and ask 
questions of the witnesses. So ordered.
    I also want to welcome a new Member of the subcommittee, 
the gentleman from New York, Mr. Kennedy. Thank you for joining 
us.
    I now recognize myself for an opening statement.
    On behalf of the Members of our subcommittee, I am pleased 
to welcome Administrator Pekoske to discuss TSA's fiscal year 
2025 budget request.
    It has been over 2 decades since TSA's establishment after 
the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. While TSA has 
grown and evolved as an agency, its mandate from the American 
people remains the same, to safeguard our transportation 
system.
    From freight rail, trucking, and pipelines to commercial 
aviation, TSA leads the Nation's efforts in facilitating the 
safe and free movement of people and goods throughout the 
United States and its transportation systems. We know our 
economy depends on this to succeed and remain competitive 
around the world.
    Throughout this last year, this subcommittee has conducted 
hearings on issues ranging from TSA's modernization efforts, to 
the role of technology in aviation security, to TSA's identity 
management work. This has been important work that gives us a 
better understanding of where TSA stands today.
    To carry out its mission, TSA needs the technology and the 
manpower to stay ahead of the quickly-evolving threat landscape 
and to keep commerce flowing freely.
    We recognize that manpower continues to be an issue, and 
this subcommittee is committed to working with TSA to ensure 
that their front-line workers receive an equitable, competitive 
wage.
    While more work needs to be done to ensure the long-term 
viability of TSA's new pay plan, the increasing employee 
retention rates are an encouraging sign. I'm confident that 
TSA's leadership will continue to be an engaged, effective 
partner with this committee in addressing manpower issues.
    I am less confident, however, in TSA's development and 
deployment of new technology. Last year, I raised concerns with 
the painfully slow time lines for TSA's rollout of the new 
Computed Tomography systems, and the second generation of 
Credential Authentication Technology at TSA checkpoints across 
the country.
    These are estimated to be completed in fiscal years 2042 
and 2049, respectively. That is simply unacceptable. One year 
later, I am still concerned that the agency has not made enough 
strides to expedite the rollouts of these critical new 
technologies.
    In fact, when examining the budget request, it appears that 
technology has taken a back seat. I am concerned that TSA has 
not requested enough for technology. TSA procurement budget 
request for fiscal year 2025 is over $40 million less than what 
Congress enacted in fiscal year 2023, and the research and 
development request for this fiscal year was barely half the 
size of the agency's R&D budget in fiscal year 2023.
    I understand the agency is also including a request to end 
the diversion of the passenger security fee, which would help 
the agency account for some of these changes. I am firmly 
against the diversion and recognize the need for Congress to 
engage this issue more thoughtfully, an end to the bait-and-
switch that is currently happening. Simply put, the American 
people pay $5.60 per flight for security. All of it should go 
to security.
    Despite these challenges, I am pleased that TSA is making 
tremendous progress with digital IDs. Through partnerships with 
States and global tech leaders, such as Apple and Google, TSA 
is working to integrate mobile driver licenses and other forms 
of digital identification into their security screening 
process.
    TSA's work on identity management is making the security 
process safer, more efficient, and ultimately less intrusive to 
individual passengers. I am proud that the agency is now the de 
facto leader within the Federal Government in this space.
    As passenger volumes at airports continue to increase, the 
role of technology is even more important to ensure checkpoints 
are operating efficiently and that passengers have plenty of 
time to make their flights. This is not the time to lose focus 
on technology.
    In closing, the transportation sector needs an engaged, 
effective TSA to ensure the free flow of goods, people, and 
services across the country and around the world.
    Administrator Pekoske, my colleagues and I stand ready to 
work with you to fulfill your mandate to the American people. I 
appreciate you being here today and look forward to your 
testimony.
    [The statement of Chairman Gimenez follows:]
                Statement of Chairman Carlos A. Gimenez
                              May 15, 2024
    On behalf of the Members of our subcommittee, I am pleased to 
welcome Administrator Pekoske to discuss TSA's fiscal year 2025 budget 
request.
    It has been over 2 decades since TSA's establishment after the 
terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
    While TSA has grown and evolved as an agency, its mandate from the 
American people remains the same: to safeguard our transportation 
sector.
    From freight rail, trucking, and pipelines to commercial aviation, 
TSA leads the Nation's efforts in facilitating the safe and free 
movement of people and goods through the United States' transportation 
systems. We know our economy depends on this to succeed and remain 
competitive around the world.
    Throughout this last year, this subcommittee has conducted hearings 
on issues ranging from TSA's modernization efforts, to the role of 
technology in aviation security, to TSA's identity management work. 
This has been important work that gives us a better understanding of 
where TSA stands today.
    To carry out its mission, TSA needs the technology and manpower to 
stay ahead of the quickly-evolving threat landscape and keep commerce 
flowing freely.
    We recognize that manpower continues to be an issue and this 
subcommittee is committed to working with TSA to ensure that their 
front-line workers receive an equitable, competitive wage.
    While more work needs to be done to ensure the long-term viability 
of TSA's new pay plan, the increasing employee retention rates are an 
encouraging sign.
    I am confident that TSA's leadership will continue to be an 
engaged, effective partner with this committee in addressing manpower 
issues.
    I am less confident, however, in TSA's development and deployment 
of new technology.
    Last year, I raised concern with the painfully slow time lines for 
TSA's roll-out of the new computed tomography systems and the second 
generation of credential authentication technology at TSA checkpoints 
across the country. These are estimated to be complete in fiscal years 
2042 and 2049 respectively. This is simply unacceptable.
    One year later, I am still concerned that the agency has not made 
enough strides to expedite the roll-outs of these critical new 
technologies.
    In fact, when examining the budget request, it appears that 
technology has taken a back seat. I am concerned that TSA has not 
requested enough for technology.
    TSA's procurement budget request for fiscal year 2025 is over $40 
million less than what Congress enacted in fiscal year 2023, and the 
research and development request for this fiscal year was barely half 
the size of the agency's R&D budget in fiscal year 2023.
    I understand the agency is also including a request to end the 
diversion of the Passenger Security Fee, which would help the agency 
account for some of these changes. I am firmly against the diversion 
and recognize the need for Congress to engage this issue more 
thoughtfully and end the ``bait-and-switch'' that is currently 
happening.
    Simply put: the American people pay $5.60 per flight for security--
all of it should go to security.
    Despite these challenges, I am pleased that TSA is making 
tremendous progress with digital IDs.
    Through partnerships with States and global tech leaders such as 
Apple and Google, TSA is working to integrate mobile driver licenses 
and other forms of digital identification into their security screening 
process.
    TSA's work on identity management is making the security process 
safer, more efficient, and ultimately less intrusive to individual 
passengers. I am proud that the agency is now the de-facto leader 
within the Federal Government in this space.
    As passenger volumes at airports continue to increase, the role of 
technology is even more important to ensure checkpoints are operating 
efficiently and that passengers have plenty of time to make their 
flights.
    This is not the time to lose focus on technology.
    In closing, the transportation sector needs an engaged, effective 
TSA to ensure the free flow of goods, people, and services across the 
country and around the world.
    Administrator Pekoske, my colleagues and I stand ready to work with 
you to fulfill your mandate to the American people.
    I appreciate you being here today, and I look forward to your 
testimony.

    Mr. Gimenez. I now recognize the Ranking Member, the 
gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Thanedar, for his opening 
statement.
    Mr. Thanedar. Good afternoon. Thank you, Chairman Gimenez, 
for calling today's hearing.
    Before I begin, I want to welcome Congressman Kennedy to 
his first hearing as a Member of our subcommittee. Welcome. I 
look forward to working with you.
    I also want to thank Administrator Pekoske for joining us 
to discuss TSA's budget request for fiscal year 2025. Last 
year, TSA faced a major funding shortfall as the agency sought 
more than $1 billion increase to pay for salary raises and 
expanded collective bargaining rights.
    I strongly supported that effort, and I was glad that we in 
Congress were able to fulfill TSA's request and fund critical 
improvements for the workforce.
    For fiscal year 2025, to continue these workforce 
initiatives, TSA has asked and has requested a $377 million 
increase for periodic pay raises and career ladder promotions, 
which will keep TSA employees in line with other Federal 
workers.
    It is critical that Congress continues its efforts and its 
support for TSA's new pay system, which is having a significant 
positive impact. Pay raises are making an enormous difference 
in the lives of Transportation Security Officers, Federal air 
marshals, and other TSA employees across the country. They are 
also helping TSA address high rates of attrition, which have 
plagued the agency for years and have now fallen nearly in 
half.
    Tomorrow, TSA and the union representing the TSO workforce, 
the American Federation of Government Employees, will formalize 
a new collective bargaining agreement that will provide 
additional benefits for the agency and its workforce.
    I look forward to hearing more from the administrator about 
the impact these workforce initiatives are having on TSA's 
ability to carry out its security mission.
    I also hope to hear more about the difficult choices TSA 
has made to determine funding priorities. TSA's budget request 
does not include funding for the Visible Intermodal Prevention 
and Response, or VIPR program, which is critical to surface 
transportation security.
    The request also does not include funding for law 
enforcement officer and canine reimbursement programs, which 
airports rely on to help with security costs.
    In addition, the request includes approximately $90 million 
for Computed Tomography carry-on baggage screening machines, 
representing an increase from fiscal year 2024 funding, but 
still not enough to allow the program to deploy machines to all 
screening checkpoints on a reasonable time frame.
    I hope that Congress will be able to restore and increase 
funding for these programs. Doing so will require creative 
solutions. As it stands, TSA's budget request assumes that 
Congress will be able to redirect to TSA $1.6 billion in 
passenger security fee collections, which are slated for 
diversion to the general Treasury.
    In fiscal year 2024, Congress returned $800 million in 
fees, but doing so required an extension of sequestration cuts 
to mandatory spending programs in fiscal 2032. Returning twice 
the fee in fiscal 2025 would require twice as large an offset.
    To go beyond TSA's budget request and restoring funding to 
key programs, Congress should also consider a modest increase 
to passenger security fees. I am proud to cosponsor Ranking 
Member Thompson's bill, the Fund the TSA Act, which would end 
the diversion of passenger security fees and raise fees by $2 
per trip to provide TSA with the resources it desperately 
needs. I encourage my colleagues to give the bill serious 
consideration as a solution to TSA's funding challenges.
    I look forward to today's discussion, and Mr. Chair, I 
yield back.
    [The statement of Ranking Member Thanedar follows:]
               Statement of Ranking Member Shri Thanedar
                              May 15, 2024
    I want to thank Administrator Pekoske for joining us to discuss 
TSA's budget request for fiscal year 2025. Last year, TSA faced a major 
funding shortfall, as the agency sought more than a $1 billion increase 
to pay for salary raises and expanded collective bargaining rights. I 
strongly supported that effort, and I was glad that we in Congress were 
able to fulfill TSA's request and fund critical improvements for the 
workforce.
    For fiscal year 2025, to continue these workforce initiatives, TSA 
has requested a $377 million increase for periodic pay raises and 
career ladder promotions, which will keep TSA employees in line with 
other Federal workers. It is critical that Congress continues its 
support for TSA's new pay system, which is having a significant, 
positive impact.
    Pay raises are making an enormous difference in the lives of 
Transportation Security Officers, Federal Air Marshals, and other TSA 
employees across the country. They are also helping TSA address high 
rates of attrition, which have plagued the agency for years and have 
now fallen nearly in half.
    Tomorrow, TSA and the union representing the TSO workforce, the 
American Federation of Government Employees, will formalize a new 
collective bargaining agreement that will provide additional benefits 
for the agency and its workforce. I look forward to hearing more from 
the administrator about the impact these workforce initiatives are 
having on TSA's ability to carry out its security mission.
    I also hope to hear more about the difficult choices TSA has made 
to determine funding priorities. TSA's budget request does not include 
funding for the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response, or ``VIPR'' 
program, which is critical to surface transportation security. The 
request also does not include funding for law enforcement officer and 
canine reimbursement programs which airports rely on to help with 
security costs.
    In addition, the request includes approximately $90 million for 
Computed Tomography carry-on baggage screening machines, representing 
an increase from fiscal year 2024 funding, but still not enough to 
allow the program to deploy machines to all screening checkpoints on a 
reasonable time line. I hope that Congress will be able to restore and 
increase funding for these programs. Doing so will require creative 
solutions.
    As it stands, TSA's budget request assumes that Congress will be 
able to redirect to TSA $1.6 billion in passenger security fee 
collections which are slated for diversion to the General Treasury. In 
fiscal year 2024, Congress returned $800 million in fees, but doing so 
required an extension of sequestration cuts to mandatory spending 
programs in fiscal year 2032. Returning twice the fees in fiscal year 
2025 will require twice as large an offset.
    To go beyond TSA's budget request and restore funding to key 
programs, Congress should also consider a modest increase to passenger 
security fees. I am proud to cosponsor Ranking Member Thompson's bill, 
the ``Fund the TSA Act,'' which would end the diversion of passenger 
security fees and raise fees by $2 per trip to provide TSA with the 
resources it desperately needs. I encourage my colleagues to give the 
bill serious consideration as a solution to TSA's funding challenges.

    Mr. Gimenez. Thank you to the Ranking Member, Mr. Thanedar. 
Other Members of the committee are reminded that opening 
statements may be submitted for the record.
    [The statement of Chairman Thompson follows:]
             Statement of Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson
                              May 15, 2024
    Administrator Pekoske has worked closely with Congress to make 
great strides in expanding workplace rights and critical pay increases 
for TSA's workers, who have long been left behind.
    Last July, 30 percent pay increases hit the paychecks of 
Transportation Security Officers across the country, finally bringing 
their pay in line with other Federal workers.
    Those raises have driven a dramatic decrease in TSA's attrition 
rates, providing critical stability to the work force.
    Higher pay will enable TSA to keep up with busy summer travel, save 
money on training new personnel, and increase security by keeping TSOs 
with seniority and expertise within the agency.
    This week marks the next steps forward in advancing TSA's work 
force initiatives.
    Yesterday, along with a group of bipartisan cosponsors, I 
introduced legislation to codify pay improvements and expanded 
collective bargaining rights for the TSA work force in statute.
    Tomorrow, TSA and the American Federation of Government Employees--
the union representing the TSO work force--will sign a 7-year 
collective bargaining agreement, which was negotiated under the 
expanded framework issued by the administrator.
    The agreement will provide additional benefits to the work force 
and prove that increased opportunities for workers to have a say in 
their working environment leads to better security outcomes.
    TSA's pay raises and new collective bargaining agreement were made 
possible by the initial, historic funding provided by Democrats in the 
2022 omnibus spending bill, and more recently, by the full-year minibus 
spending bill Congress passed this past March.
    TSA's 2025 budget request would carry forward these efforts for 
another fiscal year.
    The request includes a $377 million increase for pay, which will 
allow TSA to provide workers the periodic pay raises and career ladder 
promotions provided to counterparts on the General Schedule wage 
system.
    The request also includes a $174 million increase to boost staffing 
levels and allow TSA to continue to screen record volumes of travelers 
effectively and efficiently.
    Now, we must work with our colleagues on the Appropriations 
Committee to secure the funding needed to advance these priorities in 
2025.
    TSA's budget request includes a legislative proposal for 
authorizing committees to return to TSA the $1.6 billion in passenger 
security fee collections slated for diversion in fiscal year 2025.
    In 2024, Congress was able to return $800 million in fees, paid for 
by extending existing automatic cuts to non-Medicare mandatory spending 
by an extra year in fiscal year 2032.
    We must consider using similar offsets to return fee collections 
again this year and provide TSA necessary funding.
    Even then, TSA will struggle to make ends meet, as the budget 
request fails to fund several key security programs, including the 
Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response, or ``VIPR,'' program and 
the law enforcement officer and canine reimbursement programs.
    The request also includes a proposal to end TSA's staffing of 
airport exit lanes, which Congress has repeatedly rejected, and it 
provides only minimal funding for next-generation technology 
procurements.
    Congress must consider all possible solutions to address TSA's 
funding challenges, including increasing passenger security fees that 
have remained stagnant for many years, despite inflation and increases 
in airline ticket prices.
    My bill, the Fund the TSA Act, would provide TSA with the resources 
it needs to invest in its work force, screening technologies, and 
critical security programs by enacting a modest increase to passenger 
fees and indexing future fee amounts to inflation.
    I hope this committee will consider this bill at our next mark-up.
    I would like to thank Administrator Pekoske for his support for the 
TSA work force and his work to safeguard travelers.
    I look forward to hearing more about his plans for the coming 
fiscal year and the future of the agency.

    Mr. Gimenez. Again, I am pleased to have a distinguished 
witness before us today on this critical topic. I ask that our 
witness please rise and raise his right hand.
    Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will give 
before this Committee on Homeland Security of the U.S. House of 
Representatives will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing 
but the truth, so help you God?
    Mr. Pekoske. I do.
    Mr. Gimenez. Thank you. Please be seated.
    Let the record reflect that the witness has answered in the 
affirmative.
    I would now like to formally introduce our witness. David 
Pekoske is currently serving his second term as the seventh 
administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. In 
this capacity, he leads a workforce of over 60,000 employees, 
and is responsible for the security operations at nearly 444 
airports throughout the United States.
    Under his leadership, TSA has improved transportation 
security through close partnerships and alliances, a culture of 
innovation, and the development of a dedicated workforce.
    Prior to his tenure at TSA, he served as the 26th Vice 
Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, culminating a Coast Guard 
career that included extensive operational and command 
experience.
    I thank the administrator for being here today, and I 
recognize Administrator Pekoske for 5 minutes to summarize his 
opening statement.

 STATEMENT OF DAVID P. PEKOSKE, ADMINISTRATOR, U.S. DEPARTMENT 
  OF HOMELAND SECURITY, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

    Mr. Pekoske. Chairman Gimenez, Ranking Member Thanedar, 
distinguished Members of the subcommittee, thank you for the 
opportunity to appear before you this afternoon.
    Before I begin, I'd like to offer my condolences on the 
recent passing of Congressman Donald Payne, Jr., a Member of 
the subcommittee. He was a wonderful man and a public servant. 
On behalf of TSA, I offer our condolences to his family, 
friends, and to you, his colleagues. He will be missed.
    Turning to TSA's budget, I appreciate your support of our 
recently-enacted fiscal year 2024 appropriation. It fully 
annualized our new compensation plan, which provides funding to 
pay TSA employees at the same pay rate as the rest of the 
Federal Government.
    Since this new compensation plan was first implemented less 
than a year ago, it has had significant positive impacts on 
TSA. Our retention is up. We have many more candidates pursuing 
opportunities to serve, and morale has markedly improved, as 
reflected in the highest-ever Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey 
results in TSA's history.
    Tomorrow, I will sign a new and expanded collective 
bargaining agreement, which is also fully supported in the 
fiscal year 2024 appropriation. The President's fiscal year 
2025 request seeks to build upon fiscal year 2024 and 
recognizes that difficult choices need to be made, considering 
the funding constraints we face. I believe this budget provides 
the right balance and will position TSA to remain the agile 
security agency envisioned when we were established nearly 23 
years ago.
    Ensuring security of our transportation system requires 
constant focus, continued investment, and hard work. I would 
like to recognize and thank our TSA workforce and industry 
partners in aviation and surface transportation, both domestic 
and abroad, for their role and contributions in strengthening 
the security of our transportation system.
    This is National Police Week, established by a joint 
resolution of Congress in 1962, where we pay special 
recognition to law enforcement officers who have lost their 
lives in the line of duty.
    I am grateful for the law enforcement officers of TSA, our 
FAMS, and criminal investigators, and our law enforcement 
partners across America for their dedication in protecting our 
transportation system.
    The transportation sector is in the midst of a remarkable 
recovery from the pandemic. Passenger volumes were up by almost 
13 percent in 2023, and this year the growth continues.
    There has been 9 percent growth at Miami International, 8 
percent in Detroit, 11 percent at Lafayette Regional, 6 percent 
at JFK, 10 percent in Tampa, and furthermore, LAX and Buffalo 
Niagara have seen 7 and 14 percent rates of increase in 
volumes, respectively.
    Seven of the 10 busiest days ever in U.S. airports occurred 
in the last 12 months, and 2 in just the past week. We project 
that 3.1 million passengers will be screened on some days this 
coming summer.
    Tomorrow, we will hold a press event with our industry 
partners at LaGuardia Airport, where we will talk about our 
collective readiness and the strength of our partnership, what 
will likely be our busiest summer yet.
    An important priority in the President's fiscal year 2025 
request is continued investment in technology at our security 
checkpoints across the country. Two on-going technology 
projects in particular are included in the fiscal year 2025 
request. They both improve security effectiveness, efficiency, 
and the customer experience. The first is our upgrade of 
checkpoint X-ray technology to Computed Tomography, or CT 
systems.
    At the rate of investment in the fiscal year 2025 request, 
which is $90 million, our capital investment plan shows that 
this project will be complete in 2042, 18 years from now.
    Similarly, our upgrade of checkpoint identity verification 
technology, to include facial recognition, increases 
performance in this critical first element of checkpoint 
screening. At the rate of investment in the fiscal year 2025 
request, which is $9 million, our capital investment plan shows 
this project will be complete in 2049, 25 years from now.
    We have the opportunity to accelerate both projects with 
additional investment, as TSA has the vendors and processes in 
place to complete them in this decade, not in the 2040's.
    One potential solution to the current budget environment 
may be the 9/11 passenger security fee. For the past 3 years, 
the President's budget has been accompanied by a legislative 
proposal that would end the diversion to deficit reduction of 
$1.6 billion per year in 9/11 security fee revenue. The 
legislative proposal would instead restore all 9/11 fee revenue 
to aviation security, as originally intended.
    The diversion of fee revenue began with the Bipartisan 
Budget Act of 2013 and is due to expire at the end of fiscal 
year 2027. Ending the fee diversion early in fiscal year 2025 
would provide the flexibility to include more funding in the 
Aviation Security Capital Fund and in our operating accounts, 
especially additional screener positions, given the passenger 
growth that we're seeing.
    I look forward to working with you to fully enact the 
President's legislative proposal, end the fee diversion 
completely, and direct all fee revenue to its intended purpose 
of aviation security.
    Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Thanedar, Members of the 
subcommittee, thank you again for your support of TSA. I look 
forward to your questions and to working with all of you to 
ensure that TSA has the resources and authorities needed to 
meet its mission in protecting our Nation's vital 
transportation system. Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Pekoske follows:]
                 Prepared Statement of David P. Pekoske
                              May 15, 2024
                          opening/introduction
    Good afternoon, Chairman Gimenez, Ranking Member Thanedar, and 
distinguished Members of the subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me to 
testify on the fiscal year 2025 President's budget request, which 
includes $11.8 billion for the Transportation Security Administration 
(TSA). I am honored to be here and am grateful for the continued, long-
standing, and productive partnership TSA enjoys with this subcommittee, 
as well as all the support you have provided to the agency over the 
years.
    First and foremost, I would like to thank the subcommittee and 
Congress for fully annualizing the new compensation system for the 
entire TSA workforce in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 
2024. It has been my No. 1 priority to bring TSA's workforce 
compensation levels commensurate with those of our Federal Government 
counterparts, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because 
it is already paying dividends in ways that will have a measurable 
impact on our mission performance. This compensation system now matches 
the minimum compensation levels with the General Schedule (GS) pay 
scale and as reflected in TSA's 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey 
scores, its implementation has already improved TSA's morale and 
overall employee satisfaction. TSA's attrition has dropped from nearly 
20 percent to roughly 11 percent today, and there has also been a rise 
in recruiting, hiring, and retention. With improved employee retention, 
TSA is able to be more selective in hiring, moving from needing to hire 
over 11,000 Transportation Security Officers (TSO) in 2018 to only 
needing to hire 9,000 TSOs in 2023, to keep up with attrition and 
increased passenger volumes. All of these improvements were made 
possible by your continued support of TSA's workforce and is 
fundamental to ensuring transportation security.
    I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the 
superior efforts of the entire TSA workforce and partners from across 
the spectrum--from private industry to foreign partners and 
international organizations, advisory committees, academia, State and 
local governments, and Federal partners. They have all helped support, 
strengthen, and increase TSA's collaboration, security, information 
sharing, and growth in customer experience in the new travel 
environment.
                            overview of tsa
    Today, within the aviation network, TSA is responsible for the 
security of over 440 Federalized airports, with screening services 
forecasted this summer for over 23,000 domestic flights and nearly 
2,600 outbound international flights per day. With travel volume 
rebounding at unprecedented rates, TSA routinely screens more than 2 
million passengers, 5 million carry-on bags, and 1.4 million pieces of 
checked baggage daily for explosives and other dangerous items in many 
locations across the Nation. Seven of our top 10 busiest days of all 
time were in 2023, with a record of over 2.9 million passengers. TSA 
anticipates seeing over 3 million passengers on a single day at some 
point this year. Even with these rising numbers, the TSA workforce 
continues to rise to the challenge to meet the mission. I commend them 
for all their efforts and accomplishments, which I would like to convey 
now. During fiscal year 2023, TSA:
   Implemented the new compensation system aligning TSA 
        employee salaries with the GS scale for Federal employees.
   Completed negotiations on a new, expanded collective 
        bargaining agreement.
   Screened over 858 million passengers, 484 million checked 
        bags, 1.9 billion carry-on items, and pre-screened 
        approximately 1 billion passengers through Secure Flight. TSA 
        also screened a record of over 2.9 million passengers the 
        Sunday after Thanksgiving.
   Reached a cumulative deployment of more than 2,000 
        Credential Authentication Technology (CAT) machines, with 313 
        systems added in fiscal year 2023, including second generation, 
        or CAT-2, upgrade kits that enable the use of mobile driver's 
        licenses and utilize optional facial recognition technology to 
        match credentials to the passenger, while protecting their 
        privacy.
   Added 267 Computed Tomography (CT) X-ray scanners that 
        produce high-quality 3-D images, which reduce the need to touch 
        or manually check bags and eliminate the need to take 
        electronics and travel-size liquids, aerosols, and gels out of 
        carry-on bags.
   Updated the detection algorithm to enhance the passenger 
        experience and improve the performance of the nearly 1,000 
        Advanced Imaging Technology units that safely screen passengers 
        for on-person metallic and non-metallic threats, such as 
        weapons and explosives, without physical contact, significantly 
        reducing false alarms, enhancing accuracy, and reducing the 
        number of necessary pat-downs.
   Expanded digital identity technologies that securely enhance 
        the customer experience, including testing TSA PreCheck 
        touchless identity solutions, and collaborating with Apple, 
        Samsung, Delta, American Airlines, Google, and other private-
        sector partners to incorporate mobile driver's licenses into 
        security checkpoint operations.
   Prevented a record 6,737 firearms, of which 93 percent were 
        loaded, from getting into sterile areas and aircraft cabins. 
        This was an increase of 195 firearms over fiscal year 2022.
   Responded directly to 3 million traveler questions, 
        typically within 2 minutes, over social media and via text to 
        AskTSA 275-872. The TSA Contact Center answered 2 million 
        traveler calls and emails, and the TSA Cares helpline assisted 
        more than 71,000 travelers with disabilities, medical 
        conditions, and other special circumstances.
   Celebrated the milestone of 18 million active TSA PreCheck 
        members, enrolled a record of 4 million new members, and 
        processed more than 1.6 million renewals. TSA also welcomed 8 
        new airlines, added a second TSA PreCheck enrollment provider 
        to offer travelers more options, and announced a TSA PreCheck 
        policy change to make it easier for teenagers to accompany 
        enrolled parents or guardians when traveling on the same 
        reservation.
   Provided inflight security on thousands of flights and 
        trained over 5,000 air carrier crew members in self-defense.
   Hired more than 9,000 new TSOs and Security Support 
        Assistants. TSA also trained front-line employees at the new 
        state-of-the-art TSA Academy West at Harry Reid International 
        Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, and TSA Academy East in Glynco, 
        Georgia, where the 100,000th TSO graduated last September.
   Continued to remain deeply engaged on the evolving cyber 
        threat. TSA issued regulatory policy in both aviation and 
        surface domains to mitigate the cyber threat and build cyber 
        resiliency. This effort was bolstered by TSA's Intelligence and 
        Analysis, who provided close to 100 cyber-threat focused 
        briefings to internal and external stakeholders.
   TSA also maintained responsibility for surface 
        transportation security, which is vast and purposefully open 
        and public in nature. The surface transportation system 
        includes:
     Mass transit and passenger rail.--Approximately 6,800 
            local transit providers serving more than 34 million riders 
            daily.
     Freight rail.--Over 570,600 individual freight railroads, 
            including nearly 140,000 miles of rail and more than 1.6 
            million freight cars handling almost 28 million carloads of 
            vital raw materials and finished products each year.
     Highway and motor carrier.--1.5 million carriers, over 
            1,800 over-the-road bus companies, more than 1.8 million 
            trucking companies, and approximately 500,000 school buses 
            transporting nearly 25 million students each day.
     Pipelines.--More than 3.3 million miles of pipeline, 
            transporting over 60 percent of the U.S. energy commodities 
            including natural gas, and crude and refined petroleum.
              tsa priorities--vision/strategy/future goals
    As you know, TSA was established by the Aviation and Transportation 
Security Act in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks 
against the United States, and was charged with the singular mission of 
preventing another large-scale act of terrorism on the American 
transportation system. Since that day, TSA has remained steadfast in a 
commitment to provide the highest level of security across all modes of 
transportation and work with partners to stay ahead of evolving 
threats.
    In the years since 9/11, TSA has not only had to address the ever-
present physical threats to aviation, but also dynamic and emerging 
cybersecurity threats to our Nation's aviation, rail, hazardous liquid, 
and natural gas pipeline infrastructure. TSA works closely with the 
transportation industry to provide nimble and responsive security 
across all modes of transportation through passenger and cargo 
screening, vetting and credentialing personnel in critical 
transportation sectors, law enforcement, regulatory compliance, 
structured oversight and exercise programs, and international 
cooperation. TSA has also been entrusted with the REAL ID program, 
formerly housed within Department of Homeland Security Headquarters and 
is working to implement the regulations based on the REAL ID Act of 
2005. TSA is maximizing engagement with the public, licensing 
jurisdictions and States, while fully focused on facilitating a smooth 
transition to full enforcement beginning May 7, 2025.
    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 has implemented a comprehensive governance 
framework that establishes a clear decision-making structure, enabling 
us to address current and future threats. TSA sets agency goals via an 
end-to-end risk-based, strategic planning process. That is why early 
within my first term as administrator, TSA collaborated with 
stakeholders across the transportation system to develop the 2018-2026 
TSA Strategy, an 8-year plan highlighting the 3 key priorities 
necessary to fulfill TSA's mission:
    (1) Improve Security and Safeguard the Transportation System;
    (2) Accelerate Action; and
    (3) Commit to Our People. This strategy will guide us through TSA's 
        25th anniversary and be used to further strengthen the 
        relationship between TSA and those we serve.
    To support the TSA Strategy, as well as emphasize and reinforce 
accountability, I have issued subsequent execution plans called the 
Administrator's Intent. The documents describe short- and medium-term 
objectives to advance TSA toward our strategic priorities. In July 
2023, I published the third edition of the Administrator's Intent. This 
focuses on 20 critical issues involving people, partnerships, and 
technology, that continues to build on TSA successes. Furthermore, TSA 
develops Roadmaps, aligned with the Administrator's Intent, on specific 
cross-cutting and emerging topics. Roadmaps articulate TSA's vision for 
approaching these critical areas and enable us to work together more 
effectively with employees and external partners to achieve shared 
goals and objectives. Currently, TSA has Roadmaps for Cybersecurity, 
Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), Insider Threat, Open Architecture, 
Air Cargo Security, Checked Baggage, Identity Management, and 
Biometrics. This collection of strategic documents not only guides TSA 
in its policy and budgetary decisions, but also serves as a way for 
Congress and the public to hold us accountable as good stewards of 
taxpayer dollars.
    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 the 
guide for determining and prioritizing future investments critical to 
mission success. Last year, as directed by Congress, TSA delivered its 
first unconstrained Capital Investment Plan that describes an ideal 
future state in which TSA is able to mitigate risk to the 
transportation sector with additional resources. It is imperative that 
TSA continues to invest in, acquire, and field new technologies to 
strengthen transportation security.
    TSA's level of success is influenced by the help of Congress, as 
well as our professional, vigilant, and engaged workforce. That is why 
``Commit to Our People'' is one of TSA's 3 strategic priorities. The 
funding the committee provided in the Further Consolidated 
Appropriations Act of 2024 allows for that continued commitment. The 
fiscal year 2025 President's budget request includes the necessary 
resources to continue this commitment, including $377 million to 
annualize TSA's compensation plan adjustment.
    The strategic priority of ``Commit to Our People'' also entails 
ensuring that TSA provides the workforce with necessary advanced 
technology to be successful. Evolving threats require an adaptable and 
responsive TSA; therefore, it is vitally important that we equip our 
people with the tools they need to combat these threats. To that end, 
the fiscal year 2025 President's budget includes $89.6 million and $9.3 
million to procure additional systems within the Checkpoint Property 
Screening System (CPSS) and CAT programs. These resources will address 
capability gaps to detect new and evolving threats to civil aviation in 
current property screening technology reliably and efficiently, all 
while improving the customer experience.
    As of today, TSA needs a total of 3,585 CAT and 2,263 CT machines 
to reach full operational capability (FOC). Currently, CPSS 
procurements are an estimated 40 percent of FOC, which puts deployments 
at approximately 35 percent for CPSS and 57 percent for CAT. Based on 
past, present, and current projected funding, TSA will meet FOC for CAT 
machines in fiscal year 2049 and CPSS in fiscal year 2042, 
respectively. These time lines can improve, with your continued 
support, as TSA has the vendors, contracts, and processes in place to 
significantly reduce the time to achieve FOC. Full and dedicated 
funding for CPSS and CAT are imperative for the Nation's security at 
airport checkpoints.
    The TSA workforce consistently performs a critical national and 
homeland security function and the employees have done a tremendous job 
being diligent by monitoring the threats at these checkpoints. Here are 
some examples of outstanding performances: At Miami International 
Airport, TSO Stephane Colin was operating the X-ray machine when he 
discovered multiple prohibitive items. These prohibitive items included 
20 brass knuckles, 29 pepper spray canisters, and 30 stun guns. TSA 
staff at Detroit Metro Airport, identified a suspicious item in a 
checked bag; TSO Reggie Edwards and Transportation Security Specialist 
for Explosives James Bucher reviewed and confirmed the item to be an 
inert grenade. At Lafayette Regional Airport, LTSO Jeff Camille 
discovered loaded firearm in a passenger carry-on backpack. During the 
first 2 quarters of fiscal year 2024, Federal Air Marshals, through 
their participation in law enforcement task forces, were instrumental 
in the arrests of over 200 individuals in the transportation domain. 
There are many more examples that reflect the accomplishments of our 
professional and vigilant workforce.
               fiscal year 2025 budget request highlights
    Looking forward into the next year, the fiscal year 2025 
President's budget builds upon the resources provided for in the 
Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, and continues funding 
for TSA's No. 1 priority, the new compensation system. This will enable 
continued investment in TSA's front-line workforce, while also 
supporting continued innovation in technology to remain ahead of 
emerging threats, and resources that help maintain and strengthen 
partnerships to continue raising security standards. With appreciation 
to Congress for providing the largest necessary increases for the 
compensation plan in fiscal year 2024, the budget request includes $377 
million to account for periodic pay raises and career ladder 
promotions, similar to our GS counterparts, and supports a continued 
commitment to the entire TSA workforce. The request includes $174 
million in additional resources to support increased passenger volume 
for both fiscal year 2024 and fiscal year 2025 through increases in the 
screening workforce along with other volume-dependent requirements, 
such as staffing for vetting programs and support for Federal Security 
Director staffs.
    The budget request advances cybersecurity efforts in the 
transportation sector and continues procurement and deployment of CT 
and CAT at $99 million, along with a request of $18 million to drive 
innovation through on-going research and development with TSA's 
partners. The budget balances growth and advancement with tough 
choices. This includes moderate growth in technology acquisitions and 
research and development of new technologies, continues to propose the 
elimination of exit lane staffing by TSOs at $111 million, and finds 
efficiencies in staffing, contracts, and travel for a total of $105 
million. The budget also proposes the elimination of the Visible 
Intermodal Prevention and Response program of $68 million, which 
removes a surge capacity to protect airports and surface transportation 
systems. TSA's FAMS will continue to work with DHS, local law 
enforcement, and stakeholders to help mitigate additional risk to the 
transportation system. Last, I look forward to continuing to work with 
you as to how we may end the diversion of the Aviation Passenger 
Security Fee to deficit reduction, restoring those funds to provide for 
the true purpose of aviation security.
                               conclusion
    In closing, the fiscal year 2025 President's budget request aligns 
with TSA's strategy to improve security and safeguard the Nation's 
transportation system, accelerate action, and reinforce TSA's 
commitment to advancing its mission. Thanks again to Congress for 
supporting TSA through the fiscal year 2024 appropriations process. The 
fiscal year 2025 President's budget request honors commitments to TSA's 
workforce by providing appropriate compensation and other benefits, 
while addressing capability gaps to ensure that the Nation's 
transportation security remains the safest in the world.
    Securing our Nation's transportation system is a complex task that 
requires robust partnerships and a well-trained, dedicated workforce. 
To achieve this goal and the priorities reflected within the fiscal 
year 2025 President's budget request, TSA will continue to engage with 
industry and stakeholders, invest resources in employees and 
technology, and encourage the public to be part of the solution. 
Finally, through constructive oversight and dialog, TSA seeks a 
continued partnership with Congress as we work to secure all modes of 
transportation.
    Chairman Gimenez, Ranking Member Thanedar, and Members of the 
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you 
today. I strongly believe that the TSA priorities outlined in the 
fiscal year 2025 President's budget request are not only necessary but 
also vital to the economy. As always, TSA will be very responsive in 
addressing any questions that you might have throughout this budget 
process, and I look forward to this discussion and your questions. 
Thank you.

    Mr. Gimenez. Thank you, Administrator.
    Members will be recognized by order of seniority for their 
5 minutes of questioning, and I recognize myself for 5 minutes 
of questioning.
    Administrator Pekoske, you just said that the authorization 
to divert the passenger fee ends in 2027. When you make your 
estimates of 2042 and 2049, is that assuming that that 
diversion will continue past 2027?
    Mr. Pekoske. No, sir. It assumes that the diversion will 
continue as planned, and that's why it's out so far. If the 
diversion were to end, it would be completed much quicker.
    Mr. Gimenez. OK. Could you give me a time table. If the 
diversion ends in 2027, then how much quicker can you implement 
the new technologies?
    Mr. Pekoske. Well, if the diversion ends in 2025 rather 
than 2027.
    Mr. Gimenez. OK. No, I said 2027. Your authorization ends 
in 2027.
    Mr. Pekoske. Right.
    Mr. Gimenez. So assume that it ends in 2027. How much 
quicker can you get it done?
    Mr. Pekoske. If it ends in 2027, we could get the identity 
verification project done in 2033, and we could get the 
Computed Tomography, or the X-ray project, done in 2032.
    Mr. Gimenez. OK. If we end it now, then you can do it 
within this decade. So you'll accelerate it by a couple years?
    Mr. Pekoske. Yes, sir. Yeah.
    Mr. Gimenez. OK, fair enough.
    How do we compare with other countries? In other words, 
leading-edge, not companies, but countries around the world? 
Have you gone around and watched what they're doing, what 
they're planning to do?
    If we don't invest more in technology, are we going to fall 
behind those countries in the ability to protect the American 
passenger?
    Mr. Pekoske. Sir, I think we'll fall behind to a degree. I 
mean, the biggest difference is the United States has 430 
airports in its system. No other country has that number of 
airports.
    From my perspective, it's important that this Computed 
Tomography and this identity verification technology and the 
on-person screening technology be in every airport, because as 
you know, if you enter an airport, you're in our system 
overall.
    So we have a challenge of scale that other countries don't 
have. There are some countries that are investing heavily in 
this technology, but there are many others that are not yet 
there. But we've been working hard to kind-of bring the 
baseline of global aviation security up with these technology 
advances.
    Mr. Gimenez. Well, let's talk about Western Europe, you 
know, France, Germany, Great Britain in particular, OK? 
Probably Germany and Great Britain, OK?
    Are they doing something different than we are? Are they 
going to use the same technology that we are? They're looking 
at something else? Also, what is their time table for 
implementing these new technologies?
    Mr. Pekoske. For some countries, the time table is much 
faster than ours, because the airports purchase the technology 
rather than their federal government, their central government.
    We are all looking at the same technology. We all recognize 
around the globe that Computed Tomography is the technology of 
the present and the future. It's got a great deal of future 
potential out 20 or 30 years.
    The key challenge that's in front of all of us right now is 
an attempt to align standards of technology performance, and 
we've made a lot of good progress on that, particularly with 
the European Civil Aviation Conference.
    Mr. Gimenez. So in those countries then the individual 
airports, those airport authorities, et cetera, they're tasked 
with acquiring the technology that their TSAs require. It's not 
the TSA itself?
    Mr. Pekoske. Yes, sir. What happens is the Civil Aviation 
Authority in those countries establishes the standards of 
technology performance and then works with the airports to 
establish a time line for when they can come in compliance with 
that, and also predicates some passenger convenience issues 
with the acquisition of that technology.
    For example, with CT technology, you can permit larger 
volumes of liquids. So that needs to be predicated, of course, 
on having CT in place.
    The other thing that I would add is, as you know, we're 
working on a one-stop security prototype that hopefully will 
kick off in the next several months. Part of our requirement 
and our partner's requirement--so it's bidirectional--is that 
we both have CT technology and technology that's performing at 
the same level in terms of their software packages.
    Mr. Gimenez. Now, wouldn't that also work in the United 
States, that we develop the standards, et cetera, and then have 
each individual airport have to abide by those standards, and 
then they would have to purchase those--that equipment 
themselves?
    That could work here in the United States. I was thinking 
about that. Maybe we're looking about this the wrong way. We 
should be actually divvying it up amongst the 440 airports and 
tell them, Hey, you have to have this by this date, and then 
they'll have it.
    Could we work it that way? I think we could.
    Mr. Pekoske. You could. I would submit, though, that the 
way we're doing it centrally is probably much more efficient, 
because we're a big buyer, and we can influence the----
    Mr. Gimenez. Well, we could set up the system. We can say, 
these are the--this is what you have to buy and here through 
this contract, all right? So you'd still have that economy of 
scale, but it wouldn't be on the Federal Government to actually 
fund every single piece of equipment.
    You could probably get it done quicker, because if we say, 
you got to do that within 2 years, they may be able to do it. I 
don't know that manufacturing has the capacity, but there's 
another way.
    There's different ways to skin this cat, all right? So I'm 
intrigued by the European model, and maybe we can talk about 
that a little bit more.
    My time is up. I now recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. 
Thanedar.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you, Chairman Gimenez. Thank you, 
Administrator, for your testimony, and thank you for your 
partnership in advocating for pay raises for TSA employees.
    As I travel, I get a chance to meet with the hard-working 
men and women of TSA, and I clearly visibly see a difference in 
those hard-working officers.
    I believe the new pay system represents a sea change for 
TSA and provides it with more stable footing to mature as an 
agency. I understand that attrition rates have dropped nearly 
in half since pay raises were announced.
    What impact does the drop-in attrition rates have on TSA's 
day-to-day operation, and how does it impact the culture of the 
agency?
    Mr. Pekoske. Thank you, sir. You're right. I mean, our 
attrition rates have dropped by 50 percent. We had, in the last 
month, our lowest attrition rate ever for the overall TSA work 
force was 7.8 percent. We were up in the twenties----
    Mr. Thanedar. Yes.
    Mr. Pekoske [continuing]. For a period of time. So it's a 
sea change with respect to attrition.
    We're also seeing a very significant change. When we open 
up jobs for competition, we see far more people applying for 
those jobs than occurred in the last 5 years. So lower 
attrition, more applicants for open positions. Then, as I 
mentioned in the opening statement, we have this survey that 
every Federal agency fills out every year. It's the same year 
after year, so it's very easy to make very good comparisons. 
Highest FEV scores ever in our history over this past year.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you. Thank you, and I appreciate that. 
TSA's new pay system also provides improved career ladder 
opportunities.
    What are some of those opportunities, and how will they 
continue to drive improvements for the agency in years to come?
    Mr. Pekoske. Sir, the career ladder opportunities are 
critically important for career development, and critically 
important for us to increase the average level of experience in 
our checkpoint operation so that it's higher than what it was a 
year ago.
    So the way we work it is, if somebody is new to TSA, comes 
in and starts out at a certain pay band, the pay ladder 
provides automatic promotions after a year to the next higher 
pay band.
    So it provides a very significant incentive for people to 
progress forward and to stay with the agency. Statistically, we 
know that if we have an employee that stays for longer than a 
year, they're much more likely to stay for 5. If they stay for 
5, they're much more likely to stay for a full career. We 
pattern these ladder programs after other agencies and, in 
particular, our pattern was after Customs and Border 
Protection, which has been very successful in retaining 
employees.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you. Thank you. I understand tomorrow 
you will be in New York formalizing the new collective 
bargaining agreement. I'm just excited. I wanted to join you, 
but I have work to do here in the District of Columbia. But I'm 
really excited and I, you know, congratulate you for that 
success.
    Changing subject here, since the ransomware attack on 
Colonial Pipeline in May 2021, TSA has issued a series of 
cybersecurity requirements for transportation system owners and 
operators across various modes of transportation, from 
pipelines to mass transit and rail to aviation.
    As industry partners work to implement these requirements, 
and TSA works to develop them into full rulemaking, TSA must 
have the resources and expertise necessary to understand 
industry operations, engage with stakeholders, develop well-
informed policies, and inspect the regulatory compliance.
    Mr. Administrator, what cybersecurity investment does TSA 
require, in terms of both funding and personnel, and also, what 
has TSA done to assess its cybersecurity resource and personnel 
needs?
    Mr. Pekoske. Thank you for the question, sir. We've done an 
awful lot with respect to asking for additional funds for 
cybersecurity resources. We have roughly 200 people now within 
the agency.
    So if you think of where we were back in let's say 2021, 
when Colonial Pipeline first occurred, we've made significant 
progress. One of the things we found is, we don't have a 
shortage of candidates wanting to work in the Federal 
Government for however long to help us with our cybersecurity 
efforts.
    We have in the fiscal year 2024 request which was funded a 
bit of an increase, in fiscal year 2025 another increase. The 
increases, though, are constrained by our top-line capability.
    We certainly like to have more, because we have a 
significant responsibility to go out and work with our industry 
partners. I mean, we regulate pipeline systems, rail systems, 
airlines, and airports. So it's a big swathe of the 
transportation sector, and a bigger inspection workforce would 
really help us out.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you. Thank you for your answer.
    Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    Mr. Gimenez. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize the 
newest Member of the subcommittee, the gentleman from New York, 
Mr. Kennedy.
    Mr. Kennedy. Thank you very much.
    Administrator Pekoske, it's a pleasure to meet you.
    Mr. Pekoske. Likewise.
    Mr. Kennedy. Thank you for your service.
    Chairman, Ranking Member, thank you for the kind words. 
Happy to be a part of this wonderful committee. I was reminded 
earlier in the Homeland Security Committee meeting as a full 
that this committee began out of New York and the horrific 
terrorist attacks of 9/11.
    I know our work continues each and every day to secure our 
country and our travelers and the airports and the ports and 
the bridges and the freight and the railways.
    So thank you, No. 1, for your service. I also want to thank 
the workforce. I see there's a number of folks that have joined 
you here today, TSA officers. We are grateful to the workers 
that keep our travelers moving and safe and our economy moving 
all at the same time.
    I'm excited about the fact that you'll be at LaGuardia 
tomorrow to sign the collective bargaining agreement, the first 
in quite some time, and well-deserved for those workers. It's 
good for everyone.
    On a regular basis as we travel, the traveling public at 
airports, for starters, see those officers laboring to move 
people through security. Depending on what time of day and what 
airport you're at, the line could be extraordinarily long, and 
the workforce could be extraordinarily overtaxed and 
overburdened, depending on how many people are working.
    I'm sure they can tell you better than I can that the 
travelers come in waves. We've seen it. It's a regular 
occurrence, again, depending on what hub you're at at any 
particular time.
    What sort of guardrails do you have in place as an 
organization to keep the flow moving, to keep the ratio of 
officers in a good place so that the traveling public is moved 
through in a decisive manner as well as ensuring that those 
that are traveling are screened effectively?
    Mr. Pekoske. Sir, thank you for your comments. I'm quite a 
bit proud of this workforce, of the representatives that are 
sitting behind me that do the very hard work each and every day 
to make sure that all of us can travel safely and securely. So 
I really appreciate your comments.
    In terms of things that we're doing, pay was the big issue. 
That was our No. 1 priority in the fiscal year 2024 budget. 
Really appreciate this subcommittee, the Appropriations 
Subcommittee, and the entire Congress supporting us in that 
regard. We already see--as Mr. Thanedar noted, we already see 
the benefits of this, not just in the statistics, but when you 
visit the checkpoints and you engage with our officers, they 
feel more valued. They should always feel very valued in what 
they do.
    For me, it's really important that security is our primary 
focus. As you mentioned, 9/11, our job is on our watch not to 
ever have a repeat of a terrorist attack on our system. So, we 
emphasize security effectiveness each and every day.
    But importantly, and we talked a little bit about this in 
all of our opening statements, it's important to give our 
officers the tools that they need to do this job.
    It's not easy, if you're looking at an X-ray image, and 
you're looking at hundreds of X-ray images in a given shift, to 
be able to find some very small items that might represent a 
hazard to people that are flying.
    We had, over the past year, detected over 6,700 firearms in 
accessible property and carry-on bags, for example. So we have 
a keen focus on making sure that we put the technology tools in 
place.
    But I also think what's very important, and I know the 
officers behind me would agree, is that we work very hard to 
make sure we have a workplace culture that's positive, that's 
focused on career development of helping each individual 
officer out so that they can realize their own personal 
expectations of service and be able to provide that to the 
passengers we see.
    You know, what I think about all the time is, I can't name 
another Federal agency that has direct contact with on a daily 
basis 2.5, 2.6 million people, and represents the Federal 
Government, represents the United States, represents the TSA to 
all those travelers.
    So I'm very proud of the work they do and incredibly 
focused on making sure that--my policy is people first. We are 
a 62,000-person organization. We don't run if we don't place 
people first. I think that our folks are doing an incredible 
job, so I appreciate your comments.
    Mr. Kennedy. Thank you.
    Mr. Gimenez. The gentleman yields. The gentleman's time is 
up.
    The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Louisiana, Mr. 
Carter.
    Mr. Carter. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member, for 
allowing me to waive on to be here. Thank you very much.
    I wish to enter this document from Sheriff Lopinto into the 
record.
    Mr. Gimenez. Without objection.
    [The information follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Mr. Carter. I want to thank you for the opportunity to be 
here. Sheriff Lopinto of Louisiana has expressed his concerns 
about the elimination of funding to the local law enforcement 
Explosives Detection Canine Teams' Program and how it would 
negatively impact public safety across the country.
    Mr. Administrator, thank you for joining us today. I 
appreciate my colleagues allowing me to waive on to the 
subcommittee today, and I want to take this opportunity to 
discuss what the National Explosive Detection Canine Team 
Program through TSA, which TSA provides canine and canine 
training to local law enforcement agencies.
    For many years, TSA has also provided law enforcement 
agencies participating in the program with reimbursement for 
the costs of housing and taking care of canines. Unfortunately, 
in TSA's budget request for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, TSA 
proposed eliminating $34.1 million in funding for canine 
reimbursements.
    In the fiscal year 2024 minibus appropriations bill for the 
Department of Homeland Security, Congress followed through on 
TSA's proposal and eliminated canine reimbursement funding.
    This funding is critical to supporting local law 
enforcement agencies' canine operation, which deploy to a wide 
range of environments and provide explosive detection 
capabilities. Without reimbursements, local agencies may be 
forced to reduce or eliminate their canine programs.
    Mr. Administrator, I certainly recognize that TSA has a 
tough situation and are in a tough spot, trying to balance 
competing priorities, especially when given the need to 
increase pay for TSA employees, which I strongly support.
    However, I am worried that elimination of canine 
reimbursements would degrade the ability of law enforcement's 
enforcement agencies to respond to threats and security 
incidents within the transportation environment.
    What impact are you seeing so far for the defunding of this 
program, and have you heard from any local law enforcement 
agencies what they do in the light of this reduction?
    Mr. Pekoske. Thank you, Mr. Carter. I appreciate your 
comments and question. You know, I would echo your sentiment 
that the National Explosive Detection Canine Program is an 
extremely valuable program to law enforcement agencies and to 
TSA as well. It is the biggest explosive detection canine 
program in the world, about 1,100 canines total.
    The reason for the reduction is simply the limited top line 
that we have. In other words, we don't have enough money to 
fund everything that we need to do. We have to make some very 
hard choices whenever that happens.
    One of the hard choices was to eliminate the law 
enforcement canine reimbursement, but what we did not eliminate 
is all the support we provide for those canines. We source and 
train the canine. We train the handlers. We offer training in 
different techniques. We update the explosive odorless, and we 
do certification processes.
    So my conversations with officials like Sheriff Lopinto has 
been, Listen, this is not something that we want to do. It's 
something that our budget limitations require us to do. We hope 
that you don't give up your canines and that you engage with us 
over the course of the year and renew your agreements with us, 
which most law enforcement agencies now----
    Mr. Carter. They certainly don't want to, but, as you might 
imagine, with the fiscal crunch that you face, local 
governments likewise face them.
    But we are constantly faced with pay me now or pay me later 
scenarios. Something as critical as bomb-sniffing dogs, drug-
sniffing dogs, dogs that have the ability to, in a very large 
swat, save thousands of lives by identifying would-be threats 
is one of those things that I would implore you, the agency, 
and others, to reconsider, given the circumstances and the 
outcome that can happen in the wake of having limited or no 
access to canine response teams.
    As you develop these new agreements, will you work with 
local law enforcement agencies to understand their needs and 
impacts of the loss in funding of their operations, and will 
you consider tailoring each agreement to the needs of law 
enforcement agencies in question rather than issuing a blanket 
agreement?
    As you know, one size does not fit all. Different agencies 
in Louisiana particularly. We are Jefferson Parish, 
particularly stronger than any other, and oftentimes, has to 
loan their canines to other agencies. This elimination would 
not only impact the great need at our airports, but also our 
bus stations and throughout the rest of the State.
    So I would really urge that you look at that. I'm also 
asking, make an impassioned plea to our friends as we work on 
funding bills for fiscal year 2025. I hope my colleagues on the 
Appropriations Committee will take a look at the importance of 
this program and figure out a way to restore the funding. 
Obviously, having your support in that measure is critically 
important.
    You can count on our support, not only from this committee 
and Homeland Security more broadly, but also from Members of 
Congress who recognize. We've seen what happened with 9/11.
    We see what's happening in our country every single day 
with terrorist threats, and you see them far more than ever 
bubbles up to the public. This is one of those cases where 
penny-wise and, perhaps, pound-foolish.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Mr. Gimenez. The gentleman's time has expired. I now 
recognize the gentleman from New York, Mr. LaLota.
    Mr. LaLota. The Federal Government's passenger security fee 
is a total scam. It's $1 billion bait-and-switch collected off 
of hardworking American air travelers $11.20 at a time.
    For my constituents and Americans watching at home, in the 
name of aviation security and 9/11 airport security, you get 
charged $5.60 for every one-way trip you take, $11.20 for a 
round-trip for every airplane ticket.
    Despite the name of the fee collection program, the 
passenger security fee, over $1 billion of those funds 
collected under the guise of more security are diverted to the 
Treasury for expenditures having absolutely zero to do with 
passenger security and keeping our skies safe.
    It's a bait-and-switch scam perpetrated by our Federal 
Government and hardworking and unknowing Americans are the 
victims. To use September 11 to perpetuate the scam is 
especially offensive, especially for a New Yorker like myself.
    As part of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills, about 
one-third of the diversion will go back to the Department of 
Homeland Security. It's a start and it's a step in the right 
direction, but it's surely not enough. The entire diversion 
must end, and that revenue should only be utilized by the TSA.
    Thank you for being here, sir. I appreciate your input. 
It's always valued by the committee.
    My first question is this: In the absence of the full 
passenger security fee revenue, and due to its diversion, how 
has the TSA managed the inherent risks to airport security?
    Mr. Pekoske. Sir, it's very hard to do that. What you see 
are technology investments that we know we need to make. We 
need to have better X-ray technology across every single 
checkpoint in every airport in the country. We can't do that. 
We won't get that done until 2042.
    The same thing with identity verification. We want to move 
to facial recognition, digital identities. That should be in 
every single airport. That's 2049. This is a long, long way 
off.
    You heard Mr. Carter talk about the canine reimbursement 
program. We can't fund that because our top line is not there. 
We had to pull back law enforcement. This is Police Week. We 
had to pull back law enforcement officer reimbursement programs 
because of top-line constraints.
    I agree with you 100 percent. That $1.6 billion was 
intended for aviation security. It ought to go to aviation 
security. When that diversion ends, and I really hope it does, 
that it increases the top line of TSA by that amount.
    Mr. LaLota. Would our skies be safer if we didn't divert 
it, the Federal Government did not divert the funds?
    Mr. Pekoske. Without question.
    Mr. LaLota. Would the travel that Americans have through 
their airports be more efficient? Would it take less time to 
get through the security line?
    Mr. Pekoske. It would, because we could hire more people 
and we could put better technology in place.
    Mr. LaLota. Great. Thank you for that.
    As part of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill, the 
funding for security checkpoint technology was also more than 
halved, for approximately--from approximately $80 million to 
about $35 million.
    Last year, the TSA told this committee that, based on past, 
present, and current projected funding, it's not until, like 
you just said, 25 years from now, in 2049, that TSA will meet 
full operational capability for Credential Authentication 
Technology machines. Eighteen years from now in 2042, we will 
meet the standard for checkpoint property screening systems, 
including Computing Tomography.
    That was with more than double the funding that was 
appropriated in the fiscal year 2024 bill.
    Administrator, what does that projection look like now, in 
your view, sir?
    Mr. Pekoske. Sir, the programs will probably stay within 
those same general time frames, 2042, 2043, 2049, maybe 2050, 
but it's just crazy late. I mean, you know, when you're looking 
at 20-plus years, that's a long, long time to wait.
    I would highlight for you, too, that the CT investment is 
designed to help us detect very low sizes of explosive critical 
to the security of the system, and that needs to be done on an 
accelerated basis.
    The other thing I would offer very quickly is our R&D 
budget was also halved. So, your future capability development 
is not at the pace that it needs to be at.
    Mr. LaLota. So, in contemplation of the passenger security 
fee being improperly diverted, if it wasn't diverted and those 
2 metrics you provided, not meeting your goals until 2049 and 
2042, if those funds were not diverted and they were used for 
their intended use, what would you say about those time lines? 
They would not only shift to the left from 2049 and 2042, 
respectively. About how far would they shift to the left, if 
you know?
    Mr. Pekoske. They would shift by about 20 years to the 
left. I mean, you go from the 2040's into the late 2020's. It 
would allow us also to do a lot of other things that we just 
can't even contemplate doing right now with our budget 
constraints.
    Mr. LaLota. Thank you. I have just a few seconds left. I 
want to say thanks for being here and informing us on these 
important issues. There seems to be bipartisan interest in 
getting this right. We've certainly identified the issue.
    Now it's a matter of ensuring that we account for not only 
passenger safety, but the efficiency they go through the 
airport and plug in holes in our budget. Your testimony today, 
sir, is invaluable to that, and I want to say thanks.
    Mr. Pekoske. Thank you, sir, I appreciate your support.
    Mr. Gimenez. The gentleman's time has expired.
    We'll go through a second round. So, I'll be following up 
on what I ended up with the last time.
    What they do in Europe, and what they do in Europe, some 
Members that weren't here, especially Mr. LaLota, you may want 
to hear.
    It's not the central government that provides the 
technology at the airports. It's actually the airports 
themselves, and that the central government actually sets the 
standards of what they need.
    Let me go back to that passenger security fee. When it was 
originally established, I mean, I can't imagine that all of it 
goes to technology. What else did it go for?
    Mr. Pekoske. Sir, it goes to pay. A lot of the development 
of the programs we have, working with our industry partners to 
make sure that airports, for example, have security within the 
airport that is overseen by TSA but not accomplished by TSA.
    Mr. Gimenez. All right. So if we--now, I'm not going to 
take much longer on this, but I'd like to see you and talk 
about the possibility of actually changing our model, that the 
individual airports actually, you know, provide the technology 
that we say they need, and that's passed on to the passenger. 
But somehow, this passenger fee that we have also, that 
diversion, that ends up going to TSA, or at least a portion of 
it, or maybe a portion of it goes back to these airports to 
provide what they need.
    But we need to, I think, explore this a little bit more, 
because I think that these individual airports can probably get 
their stuff done faster than we can. When they're mandated to 
do XYZ by a certain time, they'll do it.
    The airports generate their own fees, and all the fees that 
are generated at the airport are supposed to be used at the 
airport. I know there may be some problem with smaller airports 
that don't have the volume, but I want to see how they do this 
in Europe and why they think that's a better model than us.
    Sometimes we just may learn something from them that, yeah, 
maybe it is a better model than what we have right now. We need 
to accelerate it. I'm with Mr. LaLota all the way.
    We need to--if we're saying we're going to charge a fee for 
a service, then all that money needs to be for that service. If 
not, it's a classic bait-and-switch of the American people who 
are thinking they're paying for security when, in fact, they're 
not. They're paying to balance the budget of the U.S. 
Government.
    Yes, some of it is being used for security, but the 
majority of it is not. That's not right. So I'll be working 
with Mr. LaLota and maybe other Members of this committee, 
subcommittee, to see, OK, what we can do about it.
    But the good news is by 2027, it's supposed to end, unless 
it's reauthorized. I'll tell you this, I'm not reauthorizing it 
and I don't think any Member of this subcommittee will probably 
reauthorize it either.
    So by 2027, at least you'll get it back. But I'm not so 
sure that we're the best vehicle for implementing all these 
security measures. I think these airports need to start picking 
up part of the load too.
    So with that, I'm going to yield the rest of my time back, 
and I recognize the gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Thanedar.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    Mr. Administrator, earlier this week Ranking Member 
Thompson reintroduced his bill, The Rights for the TSA 
Workforce Act of 2024, which would codify better pay, 
collective bargaining rights, and third-party adverse appeal 
rights by applying Title V of the U.S. Code to TSA in statute. 
Previous versions of this bill passed the House in the 116th 
and 117th Congress.
    This year, for the first time, we introduced a bill with an 
equal number of Republican and Democratic original cosponsors. 
I happen to be one of the cosponsors. So we are representing a 
bipartisan coalition of Members who agree that this is the 
sensible thing to do for TSA.
    Mr. Administrator, do you agree that we should not 
backtrack on the advancements we have collectively made for the 
TSA workforce, and should, instead, codify them in statute to 
ensure their permanency?
    Mr. Pekoske. Sir, we absolutely should never backtrack on 
the commitments we've made. You would lose the workforce in an 
instant in doing that, and it would be very hard to recover.
    The bill, as written, would codify many of the things that 
we're already doing which provides that guarantee. For me, when 
I look at the pay compensation plan that we just put in place, 
one of the most important things is to make sure that stays 
permanently linked to the General Schedule pay rate so we don't 
find ourselves in a position of trying to get back to that 
after a couple of years of decline. So we strongly support that 
legislation.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you. Then last year, Ranking Member 
Thompson also, you know, introduced a Fund the TSA Act, which 
would provide funding to address many of the challenges facing 
TSA.
    The bill would raise passenger security fee by $2 for a 
one-way ticket, and end the diversion of fees away from TSA to 
the general Treasury and index fees to inflation going forward. 
Doing so would provide sufficient funding for salary increases 
and expand labor rights for TSA workers, additional Computed 
Tomography machines, and critical airport law enforcement and 
canine programs.
    Although no one likes increased fees on their airline 
ticket, it is critical that we right-size the TSA budget and 
make sure you have the resources you need to carry out your 
mission.
    Mr. Administrator, you have said before that you believe 
the Fund the TSA Act would be helpful to your agency, which I 
appreciate.
    Did you have any conversation about the possibility of 
including an increase in passenger security fees as part of the 
budget request?
    Mr. Pekoske. Sir, I think, you know, if you look at when 
the 
9/11 fee was established at its current $5.60 level, there is 
nothing in there that adjusts that figure for inflation. So, if 
you just simply straight line adjust it for inflation, it would 
now be $7.50, so roughly the $2 that was mentioned.
    So I agree that re-baselining it where it needs to be, and 
that generates about $1.5 billion in additional revenue, re-
baselining it where it is. But, importantly, to put an 
escalator in that legislation so we don't get behind by 4 or 5 
percent each and every year.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you. Then do you believe TSA's top-line 
budget number needs to increase to get the agency all the 
funding it really needs?
    Mr. Pekoske. Yes, sir. I think that's evidenced in the 
reductions you see in our budget, things that we want to invest 
in that we have to reduce.
    Mr. Thanedar. Thank you. I yield back.
    Mr. Gimenez. The gentleman yields back. I now recognize the 
gentleman from New York, Mr. Kennedy.
    Mr. Kennedy. Thank you, Chairman.
    Administrator Pekoske, I just want to go back to where we 
left off the conversation a few minutes back. I want to talk 
about the security in the airports and the passenger 
experience, because I think they go hand-in-hand, and not just 
for the traveling public, but also for the workforce.
    Again, I believe there are times that the work force is 
overburdened by large waves of the traveling public. It's not 
good for anybody.
    What may we be able to do, whether it's a new guidance or 
requirements within TSA and how the departments are managed on 
the front lines, or is it a need for more investment of 
resources to get more staff, recruitment, retainment, et 
cetera, so that we can attend to these waves in the different 
times that they're coming.
    If you're at JFK or LaGuardia on a Friday night, you're 
going to have a different experience than if you're there on a 
Tuesday afternoon. That's just New York City. Say the same for 
O'Hare or Reagan or Orlando or Buffalo Niagara International. 
Take your pick, as you know.
    So what is it that we may be able to do to address those 
issues and make the experience for moving people through the 
process more efficient and effective?
    Mr. Pekoske. Yes. Thanks for the question, sir. I would 
highlight your last point first is, providing more flexibility 
in staffing, because what ends up happening is if passenger 
volumes increase higher than what was originally projected in 
the budget--and fiscal year 2025 is a good example of that. We 
project in the budget that passenger volumes will increase 4.5 
percent. They're at 8.5 percent already.
    So what happens is that burden falls on the screening 
workforce. It falls on the vetting workforce that we have that 
does all the behind-the-scenes vetting of passengers. It falls 
on our Federal Air Marshal Service as well.
    So, you know, providing at least close to commensurate 
increases in staffing with passenger volume growth--and we 
don't need to be exactly the same, because technology and 
efficiencies will allow us to be a little bit less than that, 
but not by half.
    The other thing that I think is really important, and be 
happy to have a discussion with you more in depth about this, 
is we are putting together what we call a Customer Experience 
Roadmap, because the--I believe and I'm sure the officers 
believe as well, if we do a better job improving the customer, 
the passenger experience, those passengers will reflect that 
back to the officers.
    I want to make sure that we focus on the individuals in our 
system that we have a concern about. That's the whole premise 
behind the PreCheck program is that, Hey, we have a certain set 
of passengers that we term trusted travelers. We can give them 
a lighter level of screening as a result. They move faster. 
They wait 10 minutes generally or less all the time. If we can 
either, you know, do a couple things: increase that PreCheck 
population. That would benefit us. It would benefit the 
travelers.
    Then, increase things that we look at with respect to the 
customer experience. We're doing a lot of work with the U.S. 
Travel Association right now on that very topic. Their goal, 
and they stood up a commission for seamless and secure travel 
in the United States, and I think you'll see out of that 
commission results report some very good recommendations for 
all of us to consider.
    Mr. Kennedy. That's helpful. Does there need to be a 
commission study across the Nation to the various ports of call 
to address that issue as well?
    Mr. Pekoske. Sir, there have been a lot of efforts by the 
Executive branch to look at customer experience writ large for 
taxpayers and for visitors to our country when they receive any 
Federal service whatsoever.
    Each agency has some metrics to achieve in that regard. For 
us, one of the metrics is, Can we be more consistent in our 
wait time experience for passengers? We do have wait time 
standards, but we want to make sure that we don't sacrifice 
security effectiveness for efficiency. That goes kind-of back 
to the staffing and the technology issue I talked about before.
    The other thing that the Chairman raised is that we do have 
a program for airports. If they want to purchase the technology 
themselves, they can purchase off of our, what we call a 
capability acceptance list. Many airports have done that 
already. LaGuardia has done it. JFK is going to be doing it. 
Denver has done it.
    This allows them to kind-of get ahead of the curve when 
they open up a brand-new checkpoint. A lot of investment in 
airports around the country now. They don't want to open up a 
new checkpoint--I wouldn't either--and put old technology in 
that checkpoint. They want to put the latest technology in 
place, and this program gives them that avenue to do it. 
Sometimes, you know, it's up to $50- or $60 million worth of 
investment on the part of the airport.
    Mr. Kennedy. Thank you.
    Mr. Gimenez. Thank you to the gentleman from New York.
    I thank the witness for his 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 witness to respond to these in writing.
    Pursuant to committee rule VII(D), the hearing record will 
be open for 10 days.
    Without objection, this subcommittee stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 3:39 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]



                            A P P E N D I X

                              ----------                              

     Questions From Chairman Carlos A. Gimenez for David P. Pekoske
    Question 1a. What forms of ``acceptable alternate identification'' 
has TSA identified for use in special circumstances at security 
checkpoints in coordination with its DHS counterparts? Please provide a 
list of ``alternative forms of ID.''
    Answer. Passengers, age 18 and older, must present valid, 
acceptable identification at Transportation Security Administration 
(TSA) checkpoints to proceed through security screening. If a passenger 
does not have an acceptable ID, TSA may attempt to match the passenger 
to the information on the boarding pass using one of the following 3 
alternative identification methods:
   Two Alternative Forms of ID.--If a passenger does not have 
        an acceptable ID they may present two other forms of ID 
        containing identifying information. Both must contain the 
        passenger's name to enable identity matching at the checkpoint. 
        Preference is given to a government-issued ID.
   TSA Form 415 Certification of Identity.--When a passenger is 
        unable to present either an acceptable ID or two alternative 
        forms of ID, TSA contacts the National Transportation Vetting 
        Center to attempt to verify the passenger's identity through 
        Knowledge-Based Authentication. During this process, the Center 
        directs the TSA Travel Document Checker to ask the passenger 
        specific questions to verify their identity.
   Establish identity through an external agency.--If a 
        passenger's identity cannot be verified through the National 
        Transportation Vetting Center, the TSA officer must notify a 
        law enforcement officer assigned to the airport to assist with 
        verifying the passenger's identity. For passengers who are 
        foreign nationals, the TSA officer must notify a U.S. Customs 
        and Border Protection (CBP) officer assigned to the airport. 
        However, a foreign national presenting a U.S. Department of 
        Homeland Security (DHS) document with an Alien Registration 
        Number (A-number) will have their identity matched by a TSA 
        officer using CBP One.
    TSA subjects all passengers whose identity is verified using one of 
these alternative methods to additional physical screening to ensure 
the traveler poses no threat to transportation infrastructure and other 
passengers. This level of screening is significantly higher than the 
average traveler receives in the course of normal operations. You can 
find a list of acceptable IDs at TSA.gov: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/
security-screening/identification.
    Question 1b. According to the TSA website, a weapons permit or a 
temporary driver's license is not an ``acceptable'' form of 
identification. Would these count as alternative forms of ID under 
TSA's alternative identification methods?
    Answer. There is no acceptable alternate identification list. If a 
passenger does not have an acceptable form of ID, the TSA officer will 
ask the individual if they have other forms of ID. A weapons permit or 
a temporary driver's license may be considered, in conjunction with 
other forms of identification as part of this alternative identity 
verification process. All passengers who establish their identity 
through an alternative identity verification process receive additional 
physical screening.
    Question 2. Do TSA's acceptable identification policies impose a 
disparate cost burden on American citizens who pay for IDs relative to 
non-resident aliens who entered the United States illegally who do not?
    Answer. TSA's policies for acceptable identification do not impose 
a disparate cost burden on U.S. citizens relative to non-U.S. citizens 
paroled into the country. For the vast majority of travelers--who 
present an acceptable form of ID--TSA's vetting and screening processes 
are quick and efficient. For a small percentage of travelers who do not 
present an acceptable form of identification, or travelers who have 
been identified through Secure Flight as higher-risk travelers--TSA has 
additional procedures necessary to address identity verification and 
ensure screening appropriate for these individuals. For the individuals 
paroled into the country who do not present acceptable ID at the 
screening checkpoint, TSA is requiring a biometric match against DHS 
databases. If one of these individuals refuses to submit a biometric 
capture for use by facial recognition technology, they are not 
permitted to enter the sterile area and therefore cannot fly. TSA 
conducts additional screening on any traveler whose identity is 
verified using an alternative.
    Question 3. Which DHS or non-DHS entities are involved with 
development of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Secure 
Docket Card?
    Answer. Within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the 
following entities are involved in the development of the Secure Docket 
Card: Enforcement and Removal Operations and the Homeland Security 
Investigations Forensic Laboratory. Within the U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS), outside of ICE, U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services and CBP offered input into the card design and 
content. Outside of DHS, ICE coordinated with the U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement, who uses a 
similar card for unaccompanied children.
    Question 4. 49 C.F.R.  1542 relates to airport security. Each 
airport operator must designate one or more Airport Security 
Coordinator(s) in its security program to serve as the primary and 
immediate contact for security-related activities and communications 
with TSA. Was TSA notified by any airport operator or airport security 
coordinator about migrants being sheltered in airports? If so, please 
describe in detail each time TSA was notified.
    Answer. TSA's requirements for Airport Security Coordinators focus 
on compliance with TSA's requirements for the security of non-public 
areas (i.e., secure areas) of the airport, specifically the sterile 
area and Security Identification Credential Areas. TSA is not aware of 
any individuals paroled into the country being housed or sheltered in 
secure areas of an airport. As a result, TSA did not receive 
notification from any Airport Operators or Airport Security 
Coordinators.
    Question 5a. 49 C.F.R.  1542.101 relates to the general 
requirements of the airport security program. No person may operate an 
airport subject to  1542.103 unless it adopts and carries out a 
security program. Has TSA received any request to amend an airport 
security program from airports that housed or sheltered migrants? If 
so, which airport(s)?
    Question 5b. If an airport failed to amend the airport security 
program and was housing migrants in a secure or nonsecure area of the 
airport, would that be in violation of 49 C.F.R.  1542.101?
    Answer. An airport operator would not need to amend its security 
program to house individuals paroled into the country in non-secure 
areas of the airport. TSA is not aware of any such individuals being 
sheltered in secure areas and has not received any requests to amend 
any airport's security program relative to the sheltering of these 
individuals. There is no violation of 1542.101 or the airport security 
program for providing sheltering to persons in a non-regulated portion 
of the airport property.
    Question 6a. Under  1542.107, TSA must be notified when there is a 
change in condition affecting security. Was TSA notified of any 
change(s) in security conditions by any airport that sheltered or 
housed migrants?
    Question 6b. If airports did not notify TSA of any changes in 
security conditions, did the TSA require any airport to make 
appropriate changes after public reporting revealed migrants living in 
an airport?
    Answer. TSA was not notified of any changes in security conditions 
by any airport that is reported to have sheltered or housed individuals 
paroled into the country. Based on reports and TSA's discussions with 
local personnel, any sheltering of these individuals occurred in a 
public portion of the airport property. Local stakeholders would have 
responsibility for the security of these areas. There would be no need 
for airports to provide notice of a changed condition prescribed by 
1542.207 as long as the sheltering of individuals paroled into the 
country occurs in a public portion of airport property.
    Question 7a. For each airport or airport facility that housed or 
sheltered migrants, please provide answers to the following questions:
    Was TSA consulted about housing migrants at airport or airport 
facilities, either prior to or after migrants arrived? If so, please 
describe each of those recommendation(s) or guidance(s).
    Question 7b. What area(s) of the airports were migrants allowed to 
access within each airport?
    Question 7c. Who provided approval for migrants to be sheltered at 
each airport?
    Question 7d. Who was responsible for security of that area?
    Question 7e. Was the TSA notified each time a security incident 
occurred?
    Question 7f. Were migrants screened upon entering the airport?
    Question 7g. Has TSA changed any internal policies or guidance 
related to migrants sheltering at airports? If so, please provide a 
copy of the old policy and new policy.
    Question 7h. Did TSA spend any additional funds to support migrants 
being housed or sheltered at airports? If so, please provide the total 
broken down by airport and provide a description of what the funds were 
used for.
    Answer. TSA was not consulted about the sheltering on airport 
property of individuals paroled into the country. To the best of our 
knowledge, no airport has granted access to sterile areas of the 
airport for the purpose of housing individuals paroled into the 
country. TSA does not control whether the airports grant access to 
public or other areas of the airport that do not affect TSA's ability 
to perform its responsibilities. No approval was required by TSA, nor 
was it granted by or requested from TSA. Local airport authorities are 
responsible for the security of those areas. TSA would be notified, per 
standard reporting procedures, of security incidents at an airport 
subject to a TSA security program. TSA is not aware of any security 
incidents perpetrated by persons paroled into the country who were 
being provided housing at airport locations. TSA does not require 
screening for persons entering non-sterile areas of airports. Any 
person entering the sterile area of an airport from the public side is 
screened (with the exception of select individuals working at the 
airport that may have bypass authority). As to TSA's knowledge, all 
housing for individuals paroled into the country was provided in non-
sterile areas of the airport, local stakeholders would have 
responsibility for the security of those areas. No internal policy or 
guidance has been issued by TSA as public area security is controlled 
by local authorities and TSA is not aware of any efforts to provide 
housing to individuals paroled into the country within sterile areas of 
airports. No TSA funds were spent relative to the sheltering of 
individuals paroled into the country.
    Question 8. Are there alternative financing options available to 
you or that Congress could consider that would accelerate the 
procurement of additional technology systems like CT and CAT-II?
    Answer. To accelerate procurement and fielding computed tomography 
(CT) and credential authentication technology (CAT), additional 
appropriations would be required. There are currently no known supply 
chain issues.
    Question 9a. We already have a technology fund that uses existing 
passenger security fee revenue for checked baggage systems.
    Would you be open to using this fund for checkpoint security 
technology or creating a similar fund dedicated to checkpoint security 
technology?
    Answer. The current statutory language for the Aviation Security 
Capital Fund (ASCF) limits its use to financing airport security 
capital improvement projects, implicitly including checked baggage 
technology capital improvement projects; however, with legislative 
modifications, the fund could be expanded to cover TSA's direct 
acquisition of checkpoint technology in addition to the currently-
authorized checked-baggage systems. TSA supports the expansion of the 
authority of this fund to specifically cover the direct acquisition of 
checkpoint technologies and checked baggage systems.
    Question 9b. Would you support right-sizing this account for 
inflation and then pegging it to inflation while expanding the use to 
include checkpoint technologies?
    Answer. Rightsizing the ASCF and then continuing to adjust for 
inflation will reduce the amount of fee revenue available to support 
TSA security operations and require additional appropriations. The ASCF 
has not been adjusted for inflation since it was introduced in 2004, 
effectively reducing the buying power of this account almost by half, 
though at the same time freeing up fee revenue to sustain the 
Transportation Security Officer (TSO) workforce. TSA supports the 
expansion of the authority of this fund to specifically cover the 
direct acquisition of checkpoint technologies and checked baggage 
systems, which would allow for greater flexibility in technology 
procurements and could help reduce the time line of reaching Full 
Operational Capability for checkpoint technology for both CT and CAT.
    Question 10. What impact does a slow, 20+-year, acquisition program 
have on TSA's industry partners? Is there not a significant risk that 
industry could lose talent and production capability or even walk away? 
This is especially concerning given the growth of People's Republic of 
China-based companies at international airports overseas.
    Answer. A key factor in the impact of a long 20+-year acquisition 
program, that is actively procuring and deploying technology during 
that time, is the potential that the technology the program acquires 
could become technically obsolete before, by, or shortly after it 
achieves Full Operational Capability. This would depend on the specific 
platform's degree of upgradability. Most platforms are designed to be 
upgradable for many years, but 20 years is challenging in most 
instances. Many industry partners are happy to support their systems 
for extended times after they have been deployed. Another key factor is 
the annual funding available for procurement of new systems. Industry 
is incentivized to continue to compete if their risk vs. potential 
reward calculations supports a business investment decision. The less 
annual funding potentially available to them, the less apt they are to 
continue. Vendors must also assess their competition and their ability 
to attract government purchases based on the capability they can offer 
and the price at which they can provide it.
    Question 11a. A delayed time line to field new CT systems means 
less effective legacy carry-on baggage screening equipment will be in 
place longer.
    What is the expected life span of the legacy equipment?
    Question 11b. Will those systems last until 2042?
    Question 11c. What is the long-term operational cost to maintain 
the legacy systems beyond their expected service life?
    Answer. TSA does not replace security equipment based on age. 
Recapitalization (replacement) of equipment only occurs when the 
technology is no longer capable of meeting current detection standards 
and cannot be upgraded to do so. Effective preventive and corrective 
maintenance and inclusion of parts obsolescence requirements in 
Performance-Based Logistics (PBL) contracts provides the ability to 
replace every component in a scanner and extends the life of these 
systems with new components, meaning there is a continuous service life 
extension function in place. However, Advanced Technology (AT) 
technical obsolescence (detection) is a real risk prior to fiscal year 
2042. DHS established the CT program to address this issue, as AT 
detection capability has been determined to be capped at ``Tier 2'', 
which limits its ability to detect at the threat masses and with the 
material discrimination we believe will be necessary as the threat 
becomes more sophisticated. TSA will continue to establish long-term 
maintenance agreements that include parts obsolescence requirements to 
ensure that legacy AT X-ray systems remain viable until CT Full 
Operational Capability is reached. The cost to operate and maintain 
legacy systems is equivalent to CT mid-size and base systems, and less 
than CT full-size systems. Maintenance costs have risen with inflation, 
but have not been significantly impacted by obsolescence. The 
operational cost of utilizing and attempting to upgrade legacy systems 
until 2042 is the opportunity cost of delaying the deployment of more 
capable, more effective CT technologies to address evolving threats.
    Question 12a. As you know, in 2023, TSA screened a record 858 
million passengers and is on track to surpass that this year. As you 
look at TSA's ability to process passengers, I would like to discuss 
remote screening and other force multiplying opportunities at TSA that 
utilize burgeoning technologies like AI.
    To what extent is TSA looking to adopt remote screening at 
airports?
    Question 12b. How do you see investments in digital infrastructure 
at Cat-X airports unlocking new TSA force multipliers like remote 
screening and other capabilities that are enabled by high-speed, 
secure, private interconnectivity?
    Question 12c. How does the efficiency level of remote screening 
compare to existing screening procedures?
    Question 12d. What investment level in digital infrastructure would 
allow TSA to successfully interconnect airports with the TSA cloud 
environment?
    Answer. TSA is looking to utilize remote screening at airports with 
the priority being Category X and I airports. These airports represent 
the Nation's busiest airports throughout the country. As technology 
matures and TSA is able to utilize remote screening for geographically-
diverse airports, TSA would evaluate the expansion of remote screening 
to smaller airports. The greatest force multipliers cannot occur until 
the vulnerabilities are addressed in the screening equipment. However, 
once vulnerabilities in screening equipment are corrected such that 
they can be networked beyond one checkpoint or one airport, high-speed, 
secure, private interconnectivity will unlock several TSA force 
multipliers. Remote screening may be used across an entire airport, 
across an entire State, and across an entire region should high-speed 
interconnectivity be provided to each of the locations. This could 
drive efficiency for passenger throughput across all of the checkpoints 
that are interconnected, but each would require high-speed, secure, 
reliable, private interconnectivity. As algorithms get better and 
possibly through the use of AI, a system might be able to detect an 
aggregation of objects going through various checkpoints that will meet 
up at a common destination. Cat X airports have the greatest volume, 
thus interconnectivity at Cat X airports will provide the greatest 
immediate benefit of these technological advances. The implementation 
of remote screening provides a number of quantitative and qualitative 
benefits to airports. With the implementation of remote screening 
lanes, airports can expect to see an increase of 10-15 percent in 
passenger throughput. This increase in throughput is achieved without 
the installation of additional checkpoint lanes, but rather through the 
addition of an image review position at a ratio of one per every 2 
lanes. While this increases the number of TSOs staffing the checkpoint 
lane, the increased throughput of the checkpoint lanes offsets the 
staffing increase and provides TSA with a much-needed way to keep up 
with the increased traveler volume with the existing number of 
screening lanes at the Nation's airports. Once vulnerabilities in 
screening equipment are corrected such that the devices can be 
connected to a wide-area network, an assessment would need to be 
conducted at each of the intended airports (starting with Cat X) to 
determine the networking and physical requirements to take the digital 
infrastructure to the appropriate level. Requirements for each airport 
will be different. Each airport will require a site survey to address 
items such as local connectivity, interconnectivity, and costs.
    Question 13a. TSA has not opened a qualification window for checked 
baggage inline screening systems since 2015. In fiscal year 2023, the 
Congress appropriated $5 million above the request in the O&S Mission 
Support PPA to hire additional support staff to accelerate the opening 
of a new checked baggage qualification window. While that funding is 
expected to end this year in Q4 of fiscal year 2024, TSA's fiscal year 
2025 budget request does not recur this funding.
    Answer. Modern Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) EDS technology is 
widely deployed at many European and International Airports, including 
Last-Point-of-Departure (LPD) Airports. Most European and International 
Airports follow a 3-6-month tender process to procure modern EDS 
technology that addresses current and rapidly-evolving threats. 
However, TSA continues to follow its multi-year Operational Test & 
Evaluation (OT&E) process to consider proven COTS EDS technology that 
is widely deployed and currently in use with trusted partner nations 
world-wide. Instead of working with industry to develop and acquire new 
EDS systems, TSA continues to buy the same 20-year-old legacy EDS 
systems, which will risk significant end-of-life issues for on-going 
supportability.
    Question 13b. Does TSA have any plans to establish a new checked 
baggage qualification opportunity for industry?
    Answer. TSA does intend to create a formal qualification 
opportunity for industry. TSA utilized the funding provided by Congress 
in 2023 to accelerate requirements development. These updated 
requirements will form the basis of the next qualification opportunity 
for industry. Finalizing the requirements will require additional 
investment. Qualification efforts are a multi-year resource requirement 
and will require multi-year funding and staffing commitments. TSA is 
working to identify the resource requirements and time lines to 
establish the next opportunity. This will require a return to a mixed 
life-cycle approach that allows TSA to sustain and enhance existing 
systems while managing qualification efforts and consideration of new 
systems.
    Question 13b. Does TSA have any plans to incorporate Section 1914 
of Public Law 115-254, ``Reciprocal Recognition of Security Standards'' 
into its Qualification and OT&E processes for EDS technology? If not, 
why not?
    Question 13c. Is TSA aware of any data available from years of 
operational use of modern ECAC-approved EDS technology? If so, are 
there opportunities for TSA to leverage this data to expedite or bypass 
the OT&E process and immediately include certain DHS/TSA-certified EDS 
technology on TSA's current checked baggage EDS Qualified Product List 
(QPL)?
    Question 13d. What efforts has TSA made to date to engage with 
security manufacturers to obtain existing operational use data to 
accelerate the Qualification and OT&E processes and deploy advanced EDS 
technology capabilities at TSA checkpoints? Does TSA have future plans 
to do so?
    Answer. TSA continues to work on aligning standards with 
international partners. In the checked baggage mission space, we 
support international partners through our rolling certification test 
opportunities. For formal TSA qualification, international data will be 
considered in order to reduce the scope of formal qualification 
efforts. Future qualification efforts will evaluate all applicable 
internationally-sourced operational utilization data to accelerate the 
path to qualification. While there is not currently alignment at the 
detection level, reliability, maintainability, and availability data 
from international sites will be critical in tailoring the scope and 
duration of TSA's evaluation to support qualification efforts. TSA will 
need to conduct formal qualification efforts to ensure all future EDS 
can meet the mission needs of TSOs in actual checked baggage screening 
operations. The total potential time savings will not be known until a 
formal review of system configuration can be conducted. TSA does not 
have an open qualification window for EDS within the checked baggage 
mission space. The requirements and resources are not available to 
support formal qualification efforts. TSA has added updated detection 
standards to its existing certification activities so that vendors can 
see the direction of future EDS qualification efforts. TSA has met 
individually with vendors of certified systems to discuss future 
detection needs, increased system capacity, user interface 
requirements, interoperability needs, sustainability cost 
considerations, and additional cybersecurity plans for future systems. 
During these vendor discussions, TSA has included the types of 
international operational data that can be reviewed and examined to 
potentially accelerate qualification efforts once a window is open.
    Question 14. Does TSA have plans to invest in the establishment of 
an open architecture interoperability test bed?
    Is TSA's Systems Integration Facility (TSIF) equipped to establish 
an open architecture interoperability test bed to evaluate TSA 
compliance to open architecture standards? If not, then what 
capabilities would the TSIF need to acquire to do so?
    What investment requirements are necessary to establish an open 
architecture interoperability test bed?
    By when could TSA budget for an open architecture interoperability 
test bed?
    Answer. TSA has already initiated efforts to establish an open 
architecture interoperability test bed. Aspects of this work were 
conducted in fiscal year 2023, in the preparation and installation of 
Threat Recognition Systems (TRS) at the Transportation Security Lab and 
TSA Systems Integration Facility. The TRS represents base platform that 
allows for evaluation of modules of capability to determine 
interoperability with the overall system-of-systems design approach and 
the associated key standards the design approach leverages. These 
standards are Digital Imaging and Communication in Security (DICOS) as 
the data standard and Open Platform Software Library (OPSL) as the 
interface standard. TSA also awarded a specific support contract (Open 
Architecture Enabled Support (OAES) contract) in fiscal year 2023 to 
allow for the continued updates of the DICOS and OPLS Software 
Development Kits to support interoperability. In addition to the 
physical setups at the labs, TSA is investigating the means of 
establishing a more robust virtual test bed for supporting 
interoperability testing. Funding limitations have delayed aspects of 
this work but TSA is working to transition the TRS design to a hardware 
independent containerized approach which will further enable 
interoperability and flexibility in test bed implementation. This 
virtual TRS increases testing efficiency and provides a means to 
expedite testing and reduce re-test on the physical hardware (post-
integration). Additional funding is needed to establish the test bed.

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