"Reprivatizing airport security sounds risky"

Tuesday, June 8, 2004

Opinion
Reprivatizing airport security sounds risky 
The Tri City (WA) Herald 


The move among some legislators to disband the Transportation Security
Administration and hand its duties back to private4 contractors hasn't
made much headway. 

Yet. 

But if Rep. Don Mica, R-Fla., has his way, it could happen. 

Mica is chairman of the House Aviation subcommittee. As such, he has
real influence over whether the TSA -- the agency that handles airport
security in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001 -- stays a federal
responsibility. 

The agency has a sunset provision that means it can be ended as soon as
this November. 

Many fiscal conservatives worried about creation of the huge new
bureaucracy in the first place. But they went along with passage of the
law creating it because of the national sense of urgency over airport
security. 

Federalizing the screeners was sold to the public as a necessary major
step in combating terrorism. There was, citizens were told, too much
laxity in the private system. 

So the federal government moved in. 

But its own hiring practices were almost immediately opened to question
as thefts and unjustified and invasive search techniques were employed
at a few airports by a small handful of the new federal screeners. The
willful minority appeared to be "profiling" pretty young women for
special attention. 

Mica and other Republicans now want to return the agency to the private
sector. Part of the rationale for de-federalizing airport security is
the belief that private screeners would have more incentive to be
considerate to the passengers. 

Passengers at some larger airports, notably Atlanta's, now experience
two-hour lines waiting for screening. The Associated Press reports about
100 of the nation's 445 airports with federal screeners have expressed
interest in returning to private security. 

Supporters of privatization say that current federal TSA employees would
be first in line for the new jobs. It's difficult to see how that would
work. If the security is turned back to the private sector, will the
government do the hiring and firing? Not likely. 

The Bush administration has made "outsourcing" a main priority of
government. 

But the campaign to end the federal program begins even as Americans are
treated to month after month of "orange alerts" and warnings of
heightened security threats. 

Americans seem willing to give up the convenience of easy travel and no
waiting for stronger assurances that the airplane they are about to
board is safe and their fellow passengers have been checked for
security. 

It is too much to ask them to give those assurances up.


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