Outgoing TSA official cites progress, challenges

The Transportation Security Administration's outgoing deputy administrator lauded the work his agency has done, particularly in the area of aviation security, but said major challenges rest on the horizon in securing other forms of transportation and balancing federal budget requests with actual needs.

During an interview Tuesday with Government Executive, Stephen McHale, who will resign the No. 2 post at the end of July, took issue with criticism that TSA's work in securing aviation and managing a workforce of 45,000 federal passenger and baggage screeners is not as effective as it could be.

"I'm incredibly proud of what we achieved, but it hasn't been perfect and wasn't without an awful lot of pain for a lot of people, including our screeners," he said.

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, has been a staunch critic of TSA, contending that its "Soviet-style" federal hiring, training and scheduling system should be decentralized. The agency also came under fire last April when the Homeland Security Department's inspector general said limited covert tests of private and federal screeners "suggest they performed about the same, which is to say, equally poorly."

McHale, who has served as deputy administrator since January 2002, said he "completely and utterly" rejects the notion that screening operations are no better today than they were before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He said TSA's federal workforce at airports has better training, background checks and technology now than before 9/11, when the Federal Aviation Administration oversaw airport security.

"The kind of testing that we subject our screeners to today is far superior to even the FAA red team testing they did prior to 9/11. Our testing is designed to break the system and to find vulnerability," McHale said. "The two tests are night and day different. For that reason I think our screeners are doing a phenomenal job finding hard-to-detect items. They're not finding bombs because there aren't any bombs, as far as I know, on planes, but they're finding concealed items that people are just trying to get through checkpoints."

Screening Cap

McHale said TSA can meet aviation security needs with a 45,000 screener workforce cap set by Congress, though some lawmakers now say that total should be raised.

According to McHale, lines at airports this summer are not as bad as some had projected. He added, however, that if the aviation industry continues to experience growth, then the 45,000-member cap "probably is not going to be enough." But investments in technology, such as in-line explosive detection systems, are expected to free up staff that can be repositioned at passenger checkpoints to meet screening demands, he said.

A bigger concern, McHale noted, is matching federal budget requests with actual needs.

"What concerns me is an inflexibility that's inherent in the federal budget process," he said. "We start developing [budgets] almost 20 months before the beginning of the fiscal year, but don't know what we're going to get until close to the beginning of the fiscal year. That's not a system that's well adapted to the incredibly flexible nature of our aviation system."

Mass Challenges

McHale acknowledged that TSA faces hurdles securing other modes of transportation, particularly in finding affordable technology that can be deployed without disrupting passenger travel and commerce.

"The single greatest characteristic of the U.S. transportation system is its accessibility and openness. Both run counter to what a security professional would like to have," he said. "The biggest challenge and biggest problem we have is going to be securing mass transit, whether [it's] buses, trains, subways or commuter trains."

TSA recently launched the Transit and Rail Inspection Program to explore new measures for rail security. McHale said the results, so far, have been positive, adding that he recently met with officials from Israel to discuss bus and train security.

Critics argue that TSA has disproportionately funded aviation security compared with other modes of transportation. The agency has pumped $11 billion into the aviation industry since 9/11. The American Public Transportation Association argues that at least $6 billion is needed to meet transient security needs, but the federal government has provided only about $115 million in grants to public transit authorities, since the attacks. Additionally, the Coast Guard estimates that port facilities and shipping companies need about $7.3 billion to meet new security standards during the next several years, although the Government Accountability Office questions the accuracy of that estimate. GAO said the estimate is based on limited data and assumptions that are subject to error, and should be viewed more as a rough indicator than a precise measure of costs.

McHale said the federal government had to boost funding for aviation security in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. "I don't think we would be traveling in the kinds of numbers we're traveling today if we hadn't made that investment in the aviation system," he said.

He added that aviation is a federal system, while other modes of transportation are partially funded and protected by state and local governments. "I don't think it makes sense to make broad comparisons," he said.

The Foreseeable Future

TSA will continue to play a critical role in securing the homeland, especially with regard to providing federal oversight of transportation security, according to McHale.

"As people begin to understand TSA and understand the role we play, I think there will be a greater acceptance of the role," he said. "We have been given more work to do in the last six months in securing each of the other modes of transportation … If you take TSA away, you have to figure out where all the work goes. In the foreseeable future, there will continue to be a TSA."

According to a TSA statement, McHale plans to seek opportunities in the private sector after taking the summer off to spend time with his family.