Following Pat-Down Controversy Norton Calls for TSA Hearing to Get Ahead of Security Curve

November 25, 2010 

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) who serves on both the Homeland Security Committee and the Aviation Subcommittee said today that she was not surprised that Thanksgiving travelers did not respond to calls for pat-down protest but said,  "The TSA has failed to stay ahead of the curve in technology, in developing true risk based security, and in delivering timely information to the public explaining the reasons security changes occur."  Norton is seeking hearings during the lame duck session when Congress returns.  She said it was "predictable that as the U.S. tightened surveillance of luggage and travelers at airports, terrorist would be driven to their underwear, body cavities, and cargo shipments rather than simply giving up."  Yet, some illustrations from scanners resemble photo negatives, while others appear sufficiently distorted, "but we have no idea which are being used and where, or why all of the images are not distorted, despite an announced rapid roll-out of scanners nationwide."  Norton said that by the time a Nigerian, headed for Detroit, hid explosives in his underwear, and terrorists sought to ship explosives from Yemen to a Chicago synagogue, TSA might have been left with little choice except to use whatever equipment they had, rather than risk an attack during the busy holiday travel season.  She said not surprisingly, the majority of the public agrees, but most people do not fly often.  There is no doubt that the U.S. has the technical capability to develop appropriate scanners with little risk to frequent flyers, but, according to Norton, business needs an early indication of the standards TSA requires to protect security, privacy, and public health.  Setting such standards years in advance would create the necessary competition to produce the appropriate equipment at the lowest cost because of the possibility of government contracts with governments throughout the world.  The Congresswoman said that at the hearing she would want to know how and if TSA is preparing for what terrorist is trying to do next and whether the procedures in place are based on state-of-the-art risk based strategies.  "Terrorists change to meet the security they see in place and so should we," Norton said.  "It is disconcerting to see terrorists quickly buzzing right past and right over TSA safeguards."