"John Mica tells TSA to come clean about airport 'meltdown'"

Saturday, June 2, 2012

John Mica tells TSA to come clean about airport 'meltdown'
By BURGESS EVERETT
Politico


Rep. John Mica accused TSA on Friday night of keeping the press "in the
dark" about an incident that may indicate a "dramatic meltdown of TSA
operations" and a "significant system failure" at an unspecified Florida
airport.
 
"I am calling on TSA to make details of this latest meltdown public, and
disappointed they would try to keep the media in the dark about this latest
system failure that is once again embarrassing to that agency," the Florida
Republican said.

An aide to Mica said the House Transportation and Infrastructure chairman
received information of "proposed disciplinary action," but declined to
comment further. Background on a news release from the committee said the
incident "may involve a substantial number of TSA employees, including
high-ranking airport security officials."
 
"We would expect TSA to be forthcoming about such incidents," the aide said
in an email.
 
A TSA representative declined to comment beyond a prepared statement that
implied that several agency employees may be losing their jobs.
 
"TSA holds all of its employees to the highest professional and ethical
standards and has a zero tolerance for misconduct in the workplace," the
agency said, adding that "the decision to take disciplinary action,
including the proposed removal of several individuals from the TSA reaffirms
our strong commitment to ensure the safety of the traveling public and to
hold all our employees to the highest standards of conduct and
accountability."
 
Mica also said he is "disappointed" in TSA Administrator John Pistole for
not developing a "meaningful risk-based operation that allows the agency to
coordinate intelligence, connect the dots and concentrate on identifying
potential terrorists instead of shaking down little old ladies, children and
innocent travelers." He also cited the paucity of private airport security
operations in the United States while "other nations' screening operations
allow the government to properly focus its attention on security, not
managing a massive personnel operation."
 
TSA-bashing is nothing new for Mica - or congressional Republicans in
general. In recent months, Mica accused the agency of deceiving him and his
staff when they tried to conduct an investigation into wasteful equipment,
said TSA has trained nearly twice as many people as it has employed and
authored a congressional report with Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) in November
that portrayed the agency as a top-heavy bureaucracy.
 
Mica, however, has stopped short of calling for Pistole's resignation as
Broun has or calling for the end of the TSA, as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) did
recently atop a fundraising pitch for the constitutionalist group Campaign
for Liberty. Mica instead asserts the TSA must get leaner and get out of the
"human resource business."

Related:

Truth as A Tactic (2007)
http://www.californiaaviation.org/weblog/2007/08/honesty-as-tactic


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