The House Oversight Committee confirmed Hoggan’s removal from the position. At the hearing the TSA Administrator, Peter Neffenger, was questioned why Hoggan was given $90,000 in bonuses when security lines were not improving.
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“He’s dealing with a giant bureaucracy, and a big ship that’s really hard to turn, and we need Congress to act to turn this ship around”, said Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, during a news conference last week.
Asked about an idea floated by some aldermen this week to privatize TSA services, Emanuel noted that the application process is long and would not solve the problem facing the airports now.
People stay in line to go through the TSA security checkpoint at DFW International Airport, Tuesday, May 17, 2016.
“More bags going through security means more items to be scanned, leading to longer wait times”, Markey said.
“Darby LaJoye will serve as the acting assistant administrator of the Office of Security Operations”, Neffenger wrote in the memo addressed to TSA senior leaders.
Another part of the problem is the loss of Managed Inclusion, which the TSA implemented to help reduce long security lines. PreCheck has been far less popular with travelers than expected, the TSA has said, causing further delays. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer last week termed the wait times “outrageously long” and called for more drug- and bomb-sniffing dogs.
Some Chicago aldermen have called for replacing TSA security officers with private security at Chicago’s airports by joining the federal Screening Partnership Program, which already is used in San Francisco and Kansas City.
Neffenger has also attributed some security line woes to fewer people than anticipated applying for the government’s PreCheck program, which allows passengers to move through security faster after submitting to a background check.
Until Neffenger and his agency can resolve its staffing issues, get ready for a summer of gnarly lines.
The TSA wants to open a PreCheck center in Newark’s Terminal C so travelers can enroll there. “We’re fixing that”, Neffenger said, adding that such a level of delay was not being experience at other airport checkpoints in the United States. The TSA suggests passengers arrive at least two hours before domestic flights but some in the airline industry are now saying that might not be enough.
The airport is looking at ways to provide real-time information to passengers about wait times, so they can choose which security checkpoint to use, he said.
TSA maintains that lack of staffing is a primary reason for the suddenly longer lines.
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The Associated Press contributed to this article.
