TSA looks even worse in Congress’ report

Critics of the stepped-up security presence at American airports since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have always said that while it looks good, it isn’t really making travelers much safer.

The House report says that while allegations have been rising, the TSA has taken fewer disciplinary actions against employees.

Now, more and more, it doesn’t even look good.

After a series of scandals marred the image of the Transportation Security Administration, a congressional committee investigated the TSA’s efforts to head off employee misconduct. The result is a new report from the staff of the House Homeland Security Committee whose title does further wonders for the agency’s reputation: “Misconduct at TSA Threatens the Security of the Flying Public.”

Of particular concern in the 29-page report is that the instances of misconduct have grown at an alarming rate in the last six years, even after a watchdog investigation revealed substantial misconduct.

For example, the report noted that in December a federal grand jury charged a TSA officer at Oakland International Airport with using her position to facilitate drug smuggling through the security checkpoint. The officer allegedly helped smuggle more than 100 kilograms of marijuana over a two-year period.

The report notes this is a problem everywhere, which is troubling because everywhere is where we all fly.

The eye-popping statistic is a 28.5 percent increase in reported misconduct by TSA workers from 2013 to 2015, when the annual number of allegations climbed to 17,627, equating to about one for every three full-time employees.

The biggest category of misconduct was “neglect of duty,” which doubled in the two years ending in 2015, to 1,206 incidents nationwide. Neglect of duty is described as “inattention to duty resulting in a loss of property or life; careless inspection; negligent performance of duties; failure to exercise due diligence in performance of duties; failure to follow procedures.”

Another of the eight categories of misconduct that saw increases is “integrity and ethics,” which covers accepting bribes and other criminal conduct. Try not to think about that the next time you’re standing in a checkpoint line.

The misconduct ranges from salacious (federal air marshals spending government money on hotel rooms for romps with prostitutes) to downright dangerous (an officer in Orlando taking bribes to smuggle Brazilian nationals through a checkpoint without questioning).

The House report says that while allegations have been rising, the TSA has taken fewer disciplinary actions against employees. A faulty disciplinary system contributes to low morale. As the report says, “Employee misconduct of all types corrupts TSA’s core mission to protect the traveling public and poses serious security vulnerabilities.”

The TSA’s job is to make airline passengers feel safer and, not incidentally, actually make us safer.

It’s failing on both.