Should TSA’s Covert Testing Program Have Standards to Ensure Regular Testing Occurs & Vulnerabilities are Addressed? (H.R. 3469)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 3469?
(Updated December 29, 2019)
This bill — the Covert Testing and Risk Mitigation Improvement Act of 2019 — would codify procedures that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended to establish standards for the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) covert testing program. It would also require TSA to track and report its progress in resolving security vulnerabilities identified through covert tests.
Specifically, this bill would require TSA to:
-
Implement an internal, risk-informed covert testing process that can yield statistically valid results and implement at least three covert tests every year;
-
Establish a process to determine the root causes of vulnerabilities identified through covert tests;
-
Track the progress of agency efforts to mitigate vulnerabilities; and
-
Report the status of vulnerabilities to the Congress as part of TSA’s annual budget submission.
This bill would also require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a review assessing the effectiveness of the processes that TSA uses to conduct covert tests and resolve the security vulnerabilities they reveal.
Argument in favor
The TSA’s current process for running covert tests and implementing changes to address security vulnerabilities they help identify is woefully inadequate. Improving this process will make the TSA screening process at airports better, and by extension will make everyone traveling through U.S. airspace safer.
Argument opposed
The TSA has already acknowledged the challenges this bill seeks to address and put its own plans into motion to make the process of resolving security vulnerabilities identified through covert tests more efficient. Therefore, there’s no need for this legislation.
Impact
TSA; TSA’s covert testing program; GAO recommendations for improving TSA’s covert testing program; and oversight of TSA’s covert testing program.
Cost of H.R. 3469
The CBO estimates that, because TSA says most of this bill’s requirements are already being planned and implemented, this bill wouldn’t have any significant cost over the 2020-2024 period.
Additional Info
In-Depth: The late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who passed away on October 17, 2019, after complications related to longstanding health challenges, introduced this bill to establish standards for the covert testing processes the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) uses to evaluate its aviation security operations:
“Nearly 20 years since the terrible attacks of September 11, 2001, security vulnerabilities at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have languished—in some cases for years—without being resolved. I look forward to working with Chairman Thompson to move the Covert Testing and Risk Mitigation Improvement Act, which would establish standards for covert testing and require TSA to track and report its progress in resolving vulnerabilities.”
Original cosponsor Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, adds:
“This legislation will ensure that the security testing of our airport checkpoints is done correctly with proper follow-through. For too long, TSA has not been properly introducing fixes for clear security gaps that could potentially save lives. I urge the House to quickly pass this legislation so we can be sure TSA is operating as effectively – and safely – as possible.”
After this bill passed the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Thompson said:
“Today, we honored Chairman Cummings’ legacy in a small but appropriate way, by considering a bill he authored to make concrete improvements to our government. Congressman Cummings’ bill, the Covert Testing and Risk Mitigation Improvement Act, directs TSA to not only carry out and refine its covert testing programs, but also to use the information gathered to improve the agency’s security operations. When passed, his legislation will make our skies safer. I thank my colleagues for their support of this important bill and for helping to carry forward Chairman Cummings’ work.”
This legislation passed the House Homeland Security Committee with the support of 24 Democratic cosponsors. In June 2019, Bloomberg reporter Jarrell Dillard called this bill’s odds of passage in the Republican-held Senate “uncertain.”
Of Note: The TSA’s covert tests of airport security operations are intended to help identify vulnerabilities in security operations. These are carried out by two TSA offices: Information and Security Operations. After a test is conducted, the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) requires agencies to use risk information to make decisions.
In response to a bipartisan request made in 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) declassified a report on TSA vulnerabilities in April 2019. The report’s key findings included the revelation that:
-
Of the nine security vulnerabilities identified through covert tests by TSA since 2015, none had been formally resolved as of September 2018;
-
It sometimes took TSA officials overseeing the covert testing process up to seven months to assign an office to take responsibility for beginning mitigation efforts;
-
TSA didn’t have any established timeframe or milestones for the covert testing process, or procedures to ensure milestones were met; and
- TSA’s office of Security Operations wasn’t using a “risk-informed approach” that incorporates covert testing’s results, leading to “limited assurance that Security Operations is targeting the most likely threats.”
After the report’s release, Rep. Cummings said, “This report is a red blinking warning light—TSA must act to address known security vulnerabilities and finally implement recommendations that have languished for years.”
In June 2019 testimony before the House Oversight Committee, GAO Managing Director of Homeland Security Charles Johnson reported that five of the nine pending recommendations remained open since the report’s April 2019 declassification. Two had been closed, and two were under review. Johnson expressed concern about the TSA taking months to assign recommendations to departments for review to begin mitigation, and also called the covert tests’ ability to provide quality information “not so good.”
During the same House Oversight Committee hearing, TSA Administrator David Pekoske defended the agency’s delay in addressing issues identified through covert testing. According to Pekoske, while the agency is working to address issues in a timely fashion, there’s an increase in threats with more passengers flying. Pekoske told the committee that he was aiming for the end of 2019 to close recommendations from FY2017 and prior, and that vulnerabilities identified after that date would take longer to address.
Media:
-
House Committee on Oversight and Reform
-
House Homeland Security Committee Press Release After Committee Passage
-
The Hill
-
House Homeland Security Committee Report
-
House Committee on Oversight and Reform Hearing
-
CBO Cost Estimate
-
Bloomberg (Context)
-
GAO Report on TSA Covert Testing (Context)
Summary by Lorelei Yang
(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / vm)The Latest
-
🌎 Are You Ready To Take Action Against Climate Change?Scientists claim that last year "smashed" the record for the hottest year by a large margin , offering a "dramatic testimony" of read more... Environment
-
Should U.S. Implement a New Tax on AI to Fund Worker Benefits?The debate As technology advances, artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more integrated into our society. While leaders in AI read more... Artificial Intelligence
-
SCOTUS Hears Arguments of Abortion Pill Mifepristone CaseUpdated March 27, 2024, 12:30 p.m. EST On Tuesday, March 26, the Supreme Court heard arguments about the mifepristone case, read more... Women's Health
-
IT: ⛑️ It's American Red Cross Giving Day, and... How will you give back today?Welcome to Wednesday, March 27th, philanthropists and entrepreneurs... It's American Red Cross Giving Day - a time to ensure the read more...