Weekly Column: Bolstering Aviation Security

Passenger security fees should be used as intended—to fund aviation security activities. Years of diverting these funds have hampered the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) ability to implement modernized screening technologies, particularly at checkpoints with high passenger volumes. Legislation I have co-sponsored would make certain the revenue collected through the 9/11 Passenger Security Fee (PSF) is invested in bolstering aviation and airport security, as intended.

The TSA screens millions of passengers and their luggage daily, providing services at 2,400 security lanes at the nation's 420 airports. In Idaho, the TSA has screening checkpoints at all six of Idaho’s major commercial airports, including Boise Airport (BOI), Idaho Falls Regional Airport (IDA), Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN), Pocatello Regional Airport (PIH), Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport (LWS) and Magic Valley Regional Airport (TWF).

Airline passengers currently pay a fee of $5.60 per each one-way ticket, intended to fund aviation security. Since 2014, more than $13 billion of the collected fees have been diverted to non-security uses. The Spending Aviation Fees for Equipment, Guaranteeing Upgraded and Advanced Risk Detection and Safety (SAFEGUARDS) Act I co-sponsored would end that diversion and invest these fees back into airport security. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) originally introduced this legislation, which is also co-sponsored by Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and backed by a dozen total Senators. Specifically, the SAFEGUARDS Act would:

• Allocate $500 million in PSF revenue annually for checked bag explosive detection systems (EDS); and

• Set aside $250 million annually for checkpoint technology improvements, including at exit lanes.

The legislation would also make it clear that, “revenue generated from the 9/11 Security Fee should be used exclusively to fund activities, programs, equipment, and initiatives that directly improve the security of commercial aviation, including passenger and baggage screening, security technology upgrades, and the support of personnel responsible for aviation security.” Further, the legislation would express the sense of Congress that, “the use of the 9/11 Security Fee for purposes unrelated to aviation security undermines public trust and the original intent of the fee, and all proceeds from the fee should be reserved and expended solely for measures that strengthen the safety and security of the traveling public within the aviation sector.”

On November 19, 2001, in the aftermath of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, then-President George W. Bush said, “For our airways, there is one supreme priority: security," as he signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act into law creating the TSA. I remain committed to ensuring air travel remains as safe as possible, and I look forward to the enactment of the SAFEGUARDS Act that will assist in ensuring funds intended for aviation security are used for this important effort.

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