Rep. Darrell Issa proposes Cato‐style aviation reforms in a CNN op‐ed today. The congressman does an excellent job laying out problems with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and arguing that privatized screening would increase both efficiency and security.
Here are some excerpts:
These firestorms online and in the media [regarding security lines] have brought new attention to our broken airport security system, a problem that has been slowly growing for years. But if we really “hate the wait” and want to fix it, the solution couldn’t be any simpler: let’s get the TSA out of the airport screening business altogether.
The idea of privatizing airport security isn’t a new one. Look no further than Canada and almost every single European country, which all use private airport screeners.
Last year, an internal investigation revealed that undercover agents were able to sneak mock explosives or banned weapons through the agency’s security checkpoints a whopping 95% of the time.
A number of case studies show that private screeners are not only more efficient at their jobs, allowing them to screen more passengers in less time, but are also better at detecting threats.
Under the TSA’s “Screening Partnership Program,” 22 airports have been allowed to contract with private companies to administer airport screening operations. Numerous studies of those programs … offer ample evidence that private security screeners are much better able to detect dangerous objects, including explosives and weapons, than their government‐employed counterparts.
Private screeners are also shown to process passengers more efficiently, too, meaning faster‐moving lines and more taxpayer savings.