U.S. Risks Security Letting Contractors Vet Airport Workers

Judicial Watch - The U.S. government fails to properly vet people with access to secure areas at airports and harbors and those cleared to transport hazardous materials, according to a federal investigation launched by a Democrat who sits on the House Committee on Homeland Security.

News of this inconceivable homeland security vulnerability could not have come at a worse time, in the midst of heightened al-Qaeda activity that’s forced authorities to shut down a number of western embassies in the Middle East and Africa. It’s as if we’ve learned nothing from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

In fact, the agency at the center of the probe—the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)—was created by Congress precisely to avoid a repeat of 9/11. Its duties are to protect the nation’s transportation system, mainly aviation. But the 56,000-employee TSA is also responsible for assuring that airport and seaport employees who access secure areas don’t have links to terrorism or other criminal offenses. The agency must also confirm immigration status.

This is done through the TSA’s Adjudication Center which employs contractors to help screen airline workers. Since 2003 the agency has conducted and/or overseen around 15 million background checks to reduce the probability of a terrorist or criminal attack on the nation’s transportation systems. This includes 450 airports and more than 350 seaports.   More