King, Rogers Letter to TSA Administrator Pistole on TSA Authorization Bill

April 15, 2011

The Honorable John S. Pistole
Administrator
Transportation Security Administration
601 South 12th Street
Arlington, VA  20598

Dear Administrator Pistole: 

We write to inform you that the House Committee on Homeland Security intends to immediately begin the legislative process to move an authorization bill for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).  We look forward to working with you and would sincerely appreciate your assistance and insight as we embark on this process.

Ensuring the security of our Nation’s vast and diverse transportation systems is a challenging task. We fully appreciate the demanding nature of your agency’s mission.  Under your direction, TSA has made tangible improvements in becoming more of a counterterrorism agency and better utilizing its resources.  However, obvious challenges remain.  

In our TSA authorization bill, we plan to address the need for fundamental reform at TSA by streamlining programs, cutting wasteful spending, increasing effectiveness through partnering with other law enforcement agencies and the private sector, and strengthening your mission.  We strongly believe that the evolving nature of the threat against our transportation systems has led to a growing need for TSA to better target its resources and operate in a more intelligence-driven and risk-based manner.  We look forward to partnering with you in this effort.

Thank you for your prompt and personal attention to this request.  We look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure the security of our Nation’s transportation systems. 

Sincerely, 

PETER T. KING
Chairman            
Committee on Homeland Security

MIKE ROGERS
Chairman
Subcommittee on Transportation Security