"TSA probe of whistle-blowers criticized"

Saturday, October 23, 2004

TSA probe of whistle-blowers criticized 
Corzine says agency should instead focus on fixing airport security 
BY RON MARSICO 
The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger


New Jersey's senior U.S. senator and two congressmen yesterday rebuked
federal officials for trying to ferret out whistle-blowers at Newark Liberty
International instead of fixing the airport's recurring security problems. 

The legislators were responding to reports that internal affairs agents with
the U.S. Transportation and Security Administration are investigating
airport employees they believe may have leaked confidential reports about
security breakdowns to the press. 
  
"They ought to be worried about fixing the thing ... and protecting the
public," said U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) of TSA officials. "And (spend)
a lot less time trying to find people who think we can do a better job. ...
If anyone gets exposed, I will stand up for them." 

Some airport TSA employees have been threatened with lie-detector tests and
possible loss of their jobs and jail time, according to an individual
familiar with the probe. 

Reps. Robert Menendez (D-13th Dist.) and William Pascrell (D-8th Dist.)
echoed Corzine's statements, promising to enforce U.S. laws protecting
individuals who expose governmental problems and wrongdoing. 

"This is not Red China. This is the United States," said Pascrell. "You're
going to have a plethora of whistle-blowers by the time we're done. We've
got to know what's going on because we're not getting the truth from
management." 

Menendez and Pascrell are members of the House aviation subcommittee, which
oversees the TSA. 

Menendez said he would call Marcus Arroyo, the TSA's federal security
director at Newark Airport, to ascertain for himself the extent of the
probe. 

"To use TSA resources for that, rather than making the nation safer, is
outrageous -- if that's the case," said Menendez. 

TSA officials declined to comment on the probe. 

"It's wholly inappropriate to confirm, deny or discuss any internal-affairs
investigation," said Amy von Walter, a TSA spokeswoman in an e-mail
response. 

The spokeswoman also issued the following statement from Mark Hatfield, the
TSA's communications director: 

"TSA employees have full whistle-blower rights and protections," stated
Hatfield. "TSA employees are responsible for the safe handling of classified
and security sensitive information and are subject to disciplinary action if
they fail this responsibility." 

Employees of the TSA have no union protections because they are barred from
organizing under federal law. 

Arroyo, who has headed up TSA's security efforts at Newark Airport since
July 2002, also declined to comment on employee allegations about a probe.
He referred comment to the TSA's press office in Virginia. 

"I welcome the senator's and the congressmen's concerns," said Arroyo. "I am
in support of what they stated." 

He declined to elaborate. 

TSA employees say the agency's management was particularly angered by a
story in the Oct. 7 Star-Ledger. 

According to confidential inspection reports obtained by the newspaper, the
airport's screeners missed one of every four fake bombs or weapons that
inspectors attempted to sneak past checkpoints in weekly tests between June
and September. The vast majority of failures involved screeners' inability
to detect phony explosive devices hidden in carry-on bags sent through X-ray
machines. 

Earlier this week, TSA confirmed that at least 10 screeners have been
removed from their posts -- and face termination -- because they twice
failed an annual testing program to assess their skills. 

And in May, The Star-Ledger reported that thousands of checked bags were
going onto planes at Newark Airport each day without being electronically
screened for explosives and that checkpoints remain seriously understaffed,
according to current and former screeners and internal e-mail. The employees
also said then that staff shortages and the pressure to keep passenger lines
moving resulted in security corners being cut. 

TSA officials disputed that safety was being jeopardized, but within weeks
they hired more checked baggage screeners and declared the airport had
finally met a congressional dictate that all checked luggage be properly
screened nearly 18 months after the first deadline.


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