"Security Screeners at Portland, Ore., Airport Being Cut Back"

Wednesday, September 3, 2003

Security Screeners at Portland, Ore., Airport Being Cut Back
The Oregonian


About 80 federal security screeners at Portland International Airport have
quit or were fired since January, and the Transportation Security
Administration plans to cut approximately 110 more full-time positions in
Portland in the coming months. 

The pending cuts, which total about 20 percent of the full-time screening
staff, are part of the agency's nationwide efforts to slash costs less than
two years after its creation in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks. 

At PDX, the cuts will mean longer lines at security check points in the
afternoon, said Bob Jackson, the federal security director at the airport.
But he said the TSA also will be adding part-time screeners. He noted that
PDX has increased the number of security officers to get travelers to gates
quicker. He does not think the cuts at PDX will affect security much. 

But the cuts have provided additional ammunition for congressional critics
who say the agency has been poorly managed. The TSA was criticized this
spring after it was revealed that more than 1,200 screeners already working
at U.S. airports, including some who had felony records, were fired for
failing background checks.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., who sits on two House committees with
jurisdiction over the TSA, said earlier this summer the cuts were
"arbitrary" and that he feared it would lead to longer lines at airports. 

DeFazio declined requests for an interview. But Kristine Greco, his
spokeswoman, said the agency hasn't been adequately funded by the Bush
administration. The TSA's fiscal year 2003 budget was $6.16 billion. For the
coming fiscal year, it is proposed to be $4.82 billion. 

She also raised concerns about airport security in light of the cuts. 

"The intelligence community is still telling us there are threats to our
aviation system," she said. "That hasn't gone away. And our federal
screeners are being whittled away. That was a primary weakness on Sept. 11."


But TSA officials say that new staffing levels are based on a review of each
airport, its security needs and the number of travelers passing through. 

In April, the agency announced it would cut 6,000 of its approximately
55,000 screeners by the end of September. About 3,000 jobs were eliminated
by the end of May and the TSA is expected to meet its goal this month. 

The first federal screeners began working at PDX in September 2002. By
January, there were about 700 full- and part-time screeners, Jackson said. 

But since then, the number has dwindled. As of late last month, 31 had been
fired for a variety of offenses, from flunking a background check to making
up a security breach at a passenger checkpoint, forcing the closure of two
concourses. Another was placed on unpaid leave and then fired after he was
accused of taking $1,300 while searching a woman's purse. 

About 25 had been transferred to other airports. And approximately 50 quit,
Jackson said. 

"I'd say the majority of them resigned because they found other employment,"
he said. "You have people who find that this isn't the job for them. It's a
pretty strenuous job." 

Now, Jackson said, there are about 560 full-time screeners and 55
part-timers at PDX. Eventually, there will 450 full-time screeners and 172
part-timers, he said. Some of the full-time screeners will be offered
part-time jobs. Others will be laid off or offered transfers. 

Staffing from afternoon shifts is being cut because there aren't enough
flights to justify previous staffing levels, Jackson said. Previously, there
were no lines in the afternoons, but now the wait is sometimes about 10
minutes. Jackson doesn't expect it to be any longer. 

Some travelers at the Portland airporrt aren't concerned about the staffing
cuts. Several said they don't think the number of screeners has a direct
impact on the safety of passengers. 

Said Kathleen Martin of San Francisco: "They have to be well-trained, and
then I'll feel safe." 


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