Lawmakers look to restore TSA funding to speed screening tech deployment

Lawmakers introduced multiple bills this week to speed up the Transportation Security Administration’s deployment of enhanced screening technology while also moving to improve the airport experience of travelers.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers — led by Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y. — unveiled a proposal on Monday to end the diversion of funds from the 9/11 security fee, which was instituted following the September 11 terrorist attacks to help fund TSA. 

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 diverted one-third of the collected revenue toward reducing the deficit, while also raising the security fee to $5.60 per one-way flight. The diversion of security fee funds is set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2027 if Congress does not extend it. 

The lawmakers’ legislation would end the fee diversion and create an “aviation security checkpoint technology fund” within the Department of Homeland Security to help TSA acquire and deploy new technologies. TSA is a component agency of DHS. 

In a press release, the bill’s backers said this funding would help TSA deploy new Credential Authentication Technology, or CAT, machines, which scan travelers’ government-issued identifications. Since 2022, the agency has been rolling out upgraded CAT devices that use facial biometrics to compare real-time photos of travelers against their IDs. 

TSA Administrator David Pekoske told lawmakers last month that it would take an estimated 25 years for the agency to fully deploy the facial recognition scanners at all 400 U.S. airports under its authority unless Congress ended the fee diversion. 

In a statement, LaLota called the 9/11 security fee “a total scam” and said that more than $1 billion in revenue collected from travelers had been diverted to the Treasury Department. 

“We have a duty to the American people to be truthful about where this revenue is going and ensure our airports remain safe and secure for decades,” he added.

Another bill introduced by Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., on Wednesday would require TSA to improve travelers’ experiences during the security screening process by “encouraging the deployment of technological and other solutions.” 

This includes giving TSA the authority to test “technology using passive, noninvasive means, such as thermal imaging, to screen passengers for potential threat items without requiring physical contact.”

The proposal would also require TSA to develop a strategy for reducing pat-downs of travelers and limiting the need for passengers to “divest items during screening without reducing security effectiveness.”

Additionally, the bill calls for TSA to “collect anonymized statistics regarding the screening of passengers” to determine how its practices affect minority travelers. The proposal said the agency should consider doing this, in part, through the use of “noninvasive technologies, such as cameras and artificial intelligence.”

“TSA has a responsibility to ensure their practices protect communities disproportionately targeted for security pat-downs while also protecting our national security,” Garcia said in a statement. “We must make sure folks feel respected as they undergo travel checkpoints, and don’t fear flying.”

Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., also introduced a proposal on Wednesday that is designed to  improve the airport screening process for veterans and disabled travelers. TSA would be required, in part, to provide annual training on how to screen disabled individuals and also enroll injured and disabled veterans into TSA PreCheck at no cost to the retired servicemembers. 

In addition to introducing his bill to end the security fee diversion, LaLota is a co-sponsor of both Garcia and Thanedar’s proposals.