Senator Schumer's Letter to Admiral James M. Loy Under Secretary for Transportation and Security

Admiral James M. Loy
Under Secretary for Transportation and Security
Transportation Security Administration
701 South 12th Street
Arlington, VA 22202

Dear Admiral Loy:

I writing to you to request information regarding the status of background checks on security screeners at our nation's airports. I also ask that the Transportation Safety Administration provide full public disclosure of any arrests of TSA screeners.

As you know, I have been a strong supporter of the TSA and feel that your airport screeners are doing an excellent job. Since the government took over airport screening, the flying public is far safer and the airport lines move much more quickly. But in a few cases, it appears that criminals were hired in New York who abused their authority and took advantage of air travelers.

Recently, there have been troubling stories in the press in New York City about screeners being fired for having criminal backgrounds and screeners being arrested for stealing on the job. It appears that this is occurring because screeners have been hired even when their background checks have not been completed. In other cases it appears that screeners were only subjected to basic background checks, with no detailed investigation of their backgrounds.

Given these circumstances, I would like to request the following information. How many security screeners are currently on the job who have not had a background check completed yet? What is the criteria for these background checks? What disqualifies a person from being an employee of the TSA? How many screeners have been dismissed for either failing their background check after they started on the job? And finally, how many screeners have been fired for committing other crimes while employed as a TSA screener?

I want to re-emphasize that I think that overall the TSA is doing an outstanding job. But with the airline industry in a precarious state, it is vital that we offer the public a flying experience free from worries about airport screeners. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator