The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is already resource constrained when it comes to helping the nation’s airports meet security requirements and it is only going to get worse, the agency’s top official said on Tuesday.
The continuing resolution that is currently funding the federal government at fiscal year 2023 levels until early February 2024 “is going to be challenging for us as an agency,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said at the annual American Association of Airport Executives Aviation Security Summit. The agency is currently preparing its FY ’25 budget request and “that’s even tighter,” he said.
“So, you know, our ability to add additional resources to this is just not there at this point,” Pekoske said.
TSA typically provides screening officers and technology to the nation’s airports to scan persons and their baggage before they fly with an airline. The agency’s top acquisition priority, acquiring and installing advanced baggage scanners based on computed tomography at airport checkpoints, will take some time between 2036 and 2042 to be completed due to severe funding limitations.
TSA does have a program by which airlines and airports can acquire security technology such as the checkpoint CT scanners and then gift the technology to the agency for its officers to use. Airports are concerned that with the agency’s technology budgets constrained that TSA will attempt to shift more of the burden on them to purchase and then gift security detection systems.
Last year, TSA received just over $100 million for its checkpoint CT purchases and for FY ’24 has requested about $70 million. House appropriators want to give TSA $105 million for the technology while Senate appropriators have proposed zeroing the request. Pekoske has said he needs between $300 million and $350 million annually to complete checkpoint CT deployments in five years.
TSA purchases the checkpoint CT systems from Analogic, Smiths Detection, and Integrated Defense & Security Solutions, which is now part of Tek84.
TSA’s top priority, which Congress funded in FY ’23, is paying its screening officers rates equal to other federal employees.
The agency also wants airports to screen more aviation workers to mitigate insider threats but wants the airports to purchase the screening technology.
TSA can help airports when they create their training programs and operating procedures by providing its experience in operating screening technology and screening passengers, Stacey Fitzmaurice, the agency’s executive assistant administrator for operations support, said later during a panel discussion at the conference. The agency also has more than 20 years of experience in purchasing security detection technology that it can share with airports, she said.
Fiscal year 2024 began on Oct. 1 under a continuing resolution. In November, Congress approved a second resolution to keep the government funded until next February. There are concerns that Congress will not agree on any appropriations bills this year and will continue funding the government under a continuing resolution through the end of FY ’24 next September.
If a continuing resolution is extended for the entire fiscal year, the related resource constraints will be exacerbated by presidential elections next November, Pekoske warned.
“The year following the election always has a delayed appropriations process too,” he said. “And so, we have the potential for two years to be a little bit uncertain as to what our funding levels will be. That impacts our capital investments in a big way because the vendors, the companies that provide us the technology, are uncertain as are we as to what our funding levels are going to be and what our demand is going to be for technology.”