During a call with reporters on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) called for private contractors to take over airport security across the country.
Tuberville’s demand come as the U.S. Transportation Security Administration struggles to address growing chaos and long lines at airports throughout the U.S.
"Let somebody other than the federal government run this," said Tuberville. "As you all know, I introduced the Abolish the TSA Act last year with Senator Mike Lee. For years, Barack Obama and Joe Biden allowed illegal aliens to move around the country freely on commercial flights, on your dime, the taxpayers of this country. Now Democrats are holding funding for the Transportation Security Administration, better known as TSA, holding it hostage, resulting in hours of long security lines at airports where law-abiding American citizens are missing their flights. I'm thankful that most TSA agents have continued to show up to work without pay, but all this could be avoided if we privatized airport security and got it out of the federal government."
Tuberville added, "The federal government can't run anything."
According to the lawmaker, while TSA plays a vital role in protecting Americans, the agency has grown into an "overbloated and inefficient" entity with a history of failing up to 95% of mock explosives and banned weapons tests.
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"Sixty thousand employees. It is ridiculous," Tuberville said. "We've been spending nearly $12 billion yearly on TSA — $12 billion in addition to widespread allegations of employee misconduct and theft. In 2015, the assessment found that TSA agents missed 95% of mock explosives and banned weapons during checkpoint screenings. This was a test they failed 95% of the time. The 95% failure rate was repeated in 2017 at Minneapolis St. Paul airport, and repeat national tests that year were in the ballpark of 80% failure rates. They're not getting any better. They're not serving any purpose other than getting in the way."
Tuberville pointed to two major privatized airports that have not had issues with passenger traffic as examples of why the change is needed.
"There are several airports, like Kansas City and San Francisco, that don't have long lines. I wonder why? Because they're not run by the federal government," stated Tuberville. "They're privatized, and that's what we should do to every airport. Let the airport supply the security. The federal government can't do anything right. You don't see the Kansas City and San Francisco airports on TV. It's because they're not having these same issues. We need to focus on smarter, more effective methods to protect our country without sacrificing liberties that make America great."
"So in light of everything happening right now, plan to continue conversations with Senator Lee and other colleagues about what we can do to privatize TSA," he concluded.
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