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Rights for Transportation Security Officers Act of 2020

Floor Speech

Date: March 5, 2020
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security

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Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to begin by thanking Chairman Thompson for his leadership on this important legislation and for his commitment to the men and women who keep our airports and travelers safe.

I am proud to cosponsor this bipartisan bill because I share the chairman's commitment to ensuring that the TSA workforce receives the rights that they have earned.

I am also proud to lead this amendment, which would codify the administration's ban on TSA employees using or installing the app TikTok on their government-issued phones.

While to some TikTok may seem like a harmless app, TikTok presents a significant counterintelligence threat. Our intelligence experts are rightly concerned about the use of the TikTok app, especially on U.S. Government-issued devices.

As many of my colleagues know, TikTok, like other Chinese companies, is required under Chinese law to share information with the government and its institutions. There are real concerns that this app could also collect information on users in the United States to advance Chinese counterintelligence efforts. And because it could become a tool for surveilling U.S. citizens or Federal personnel, TikTok has no business being on U.S. Government-issued devices.

While entrusted with keeping Americans safe, our security personnel should not use apps that could compromise Federal Government data. There is always a threat that TikTok could be used to compromise government devices, including those used in our airports and among our airport personnel. That is why this amendment is so important and why we should pass it without delay.

Recently, the TSA announced a prohibition on employees using or downloading TikTok on their government-issued work phones, and my amendment would make this ban law. Other government agencies and departments have instituted a prohibition on the use of TikTok on government-issued phones including the U.S. Army, the State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security.

TSA is right to institute this policy, especially as TikTok refuses to provide more transparency into some of its more controversial practices and use.
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Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and to continue protecting our Nation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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