Airport security agency to get ombudsman

The Transportation Security Administration will appoint an ombudsman to hear complaints from air travelers and new federal airport security workers, agency chief John Magaw said Thursday. Magaw, who hired an ombudsman when he served as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said the official would "sit right off of my office" and be one of the TSA's top officials. One of the ombudsman's chief duties will be to listen to issues raised by the agency's workforce, Magaw said. "Internally, [the ombudsman] will monitor the kinds of things that we need to know as we're taking on personnel from [the] Federal Aviation Administration and also as we're hiring new personnel to make sure that we're hearing everyone's views and thoughts, and so we can have a very informed and satisfied workforce," Magaw said at a press conference in Washington. Beyond speaking with the ombudsman, it is not clear whether TSA employees will have other avenues to report waste and fraud at the agency. Last week, Magaw told the House Transportation Appropriations Committee that granting TSA employees full whistleblower protection rights could threaten security. Most federal employees who report misconduct, gross waste of funds, violations of law, threats to public safety or abuse of authority are protected from retaliation under the 1989 Whistleblower Protection Act. But, the 2001 Aviation and Transportation Security Act exempts the agency from Title 5 of the U.S. Code, leaving it up to Magaw to decide whether employees should have such civil service protections. Testifying before the same panel this week, the Transportation Department's inspector general, Kenneth Mead, said the agency should pick a third party to hear complaints from workers. "I don't believe that it would be in the best interest of TSA or the [Transportation] department to have the TSA agency investigating itself when somebody blows the whistle, so to speak. I think you need a third party." The department has also not yet decided whether TSA employees will be allowed to unionize, Deputy Secretary of Transportation Michael Jackson said at the press conference. Magaw and Jackson said the agency would be ready to assume direct responsibility for airport security on Feb. 17, a deadline mandated by the aviation security law. On Sunday, the agency will take over contracts with private screening companies, who will continue to screen bags until federal screeners are hired later this year. Personnel from the FAA's Civil Aviation Security office, which was transferred to the TSA under the aviation security law, will supervise contractors for the next few weeks. By March, the TSA will begin deploying federal security directors to head security operations at the nation's largest 81 airports. Nearly 10,000 people have applied for these 81 positions, according to Magaw and Jackson. The agency is looking for more companies who can manufacture explosive-detection machines to help meet a Dec. 31 deadline for screening all checked bags with explosive-detection systems. Only two companies, L-3 Communications of New York and InVision Technologies of Newark, Calif., have systems that meet the Federal Aviation Administration's standards for use in airports, although Jackson said a third company could soon be certified. Jackson and Magaw said the agency would use both trace explosives technology and detection machines to meet the deadline.