The Patriot Post® · Screening TSA's Bad Behavior

The Transportation Security Administration has a long history of woeful effectiveness. From the recent long lines at airport security to utterly botching anti-terrorism experiments to hiring potential terrorists to deploying useless body scanners — not to mention the highly unnecessary yet mandatory groping of airline passengers — the agency has come under well deserved scrutiny by becoming another case study in government ineptitude, demonstrating yet again how atrociously public entities are managed. Unfortunately, there is more madness to report.

The Homeland Security Committee recently published a comprehensive investigative report, “Misconduct at TSA Threatens the Security of the Flying Public,” that serves as yet another wake-up call. According to the report, “TSA data shows that misconduct has grown over time — both before and after a watchdog investigation.” Despite reforms, the report says “recent TSA data shows that misconduct continued to grow by almost 29% from fiscal year 2013 to 2015.” The misconduct ranges from drug offenses to prostitution (payed for by taxpayers, of course) to bribes to relocating lower-level whistleblowers out of retaliation.

“On average, 58 allegations were filed at each airport in fiscal year 2015,” the report adds. Moreover, “35% of airports experienced an increase in the number of allegations of employee misconduct, with some airports having nearly 40 times the number of allegations than in fiscal year 2013.” All told, “Almost half of TSA’s entire workforce allegedly committed misconduct, and almost half of that number allegedly did so repeatedly.” Put another way, roughly 27,000 TSA workers have engaged in behavior that would most assuredly get a private employee fired.

It’s important to note this worsening misbehavior is occurring despite executives supposedly implementing overhauls at the TSA. Obviously, a big reason is because the federal government is terrible at managing things that should be left to the private sector, but another reason is that TSA workers are protected under — you guessed it — unionization. And in May, columnist Michelle Malkin documented the American Federation of Government Employees’ push to siphon even more power. Big Labor causes enough problems in the private sector. And intertwining unions and government malfeasance is a terrible combination, particularly when national security is what’s at stake. The only meaningful reform would be to completely abolish the TSA.