Sen. Carper: TSA needs strong, permanent leadership

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, examined some of the mission-critical challenges facing the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) during the committee hearing, “Oversight of the Transportation Security Administration: First-Hand and Government Watchdog Accounts of Agency Challenges.” During the hearing, members and witnesses explored some of the issues impairing agency efforts and eroding public confidence that the TSA can fulfill its mission to keep the nation’s transportation systems safe and secure, including those problems outlined in recent reports from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General and Government Accountability Office.

“We rely on the Transportation Security Administration to keep our nation’s transportation systems and those who use them secure. Recent reports by the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General paint a troubling picture of the state of our nation’s aviation security, and have brought to light serious questions about the agency’s ability to fulfill its mission,” Sen. Carper said. “Today’s hearing was an important opportunity to discuss those issues and deeply examine what’s working and what’s not working at TSA. I believe that in everything we do, we must strive for perfection and do better. More than ever, TSA needs strong leadership to help nourish a culture of accountability in its workforce and reinvigorate agency wide efforts to fulfill its mission. Given the challenges outlined during today’s hearing, and the continuously evolving threats to our nation’s aviation security networks, it is critical that TSA has a permanent, Senate-confirmed leader in place as soon as possible. I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues on Vice Admiral Neffenger’s nomination in an expeditious manner, continuing with his nomination hearing tomorrow.”

Tomorrow, June 10, at 9:00AM, the committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Peter V. Neffenger to be Assistant Security (Transportation Security Administration) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. For more information or to watch a live stream of the hearing, please click here.

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