[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


          TAKING TO THE SKIES: EXAMINING TSA'S STRAT-
            EGY FOR ADDRESSING INCREASED SUMMER TRAVEL

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                            SUBCOMMITTEE ON
                           TRANSPORTATION AND
                           MARITIME SECURITY

                                 OF THE

                     COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                             JULY 20, 2021

                               __________

                           Serial No. 117-24

                               __________

       Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
                                     

[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 
                                     

        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
                               __________
                               
                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
45-828 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2021                     
          
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                     COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

               Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi, Chairman
Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas            John Katko, New York
James R. Langevin, Rhode Island      Michael T. McCaul, Texas
Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey     Clay Higgins, Louisiana
J. Luis Correa, California           Michael Guest, Mississippi
Elissa Slotkin, Michigan             Dan Bishop, North Carolina
Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri            Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey
Al Green, Texas                      Ralph Norman, South Carolina
Yvette D. Clarke, New York           Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa
Eric Swalwell, California            Diana Harshbarger, Tennessee
Dina Titus, Nevada                   Andrew S. Clyde, Georgia
Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey    Carlos A. Gimenez, Florida
Kathleen M. Rice, New York           Jake LaTurner, Kansas
Val Butler Demings, Florida          Peter Meijer, Michigan
Nanette Diaz Barragan, California    Kat Cammack, Florida
Josh Gottheimer, New Jersey          August Pfluger, Texas
Elaine G. Luria, Virginia            Andrew R. Garbarino, New York
Tom Malinowski, New Jersey
Ritchie Torres, New York
                       Hope Goins, Staff Director
                 Daniel Kroese, Minority Staff Director
                          Natalie Nixon, Clerk
                                 
                                 ------                                

          SUBCOMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND MARITIME SECURITY

             Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey, Chairwoman
Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey     Carlos A. Gimenez, Florida, 
Dina Titus, Nevada                       Ranking Member
Josh Gottheimer, New Jersey          Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey
Elaine G. Luria, Virginia            Ralph Norman, South Carolina
Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi (ex  Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa
    officio)                         John Katko, New York (ex officio)
                Alex Marston, Subcomittee Staff Director
          Kathryn Maxwell, Minority Subcomittee Staff Director
                     Alice Hayes, Subcomittee Clerk
                            
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

                               Statements

The Honorable Bonnie Watson Coleman, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of New Jersey, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on 
  Transportation and Maritime Security:
  Oral Statement.................................................     1
  Prepared Statement.............................................     2
The Honorable Carlos A. Gimenez, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Florida, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on 
  Transportation and Maritime Security:
  Oral Statement.................................................     3
  Prepared Statement.............................................     3
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress 
  From the State of Mississippi, and Chairman, Committee on 
  Homeland Security:
  Oral Statement.................................................     4
  Prepared Statement.............................................     5

                               Witnesses

Mr. Darby LaJoye, Executive Assistant Administrator for Security 
  Operations, Transportation Security Administration, U.S. 
  Department of Homeland Security:
  Oral Statement.................................................     6
  Joint Prepared Statement.......................................     8
Mr. Michael Ondocin, Executive Assistant Administrator for Law 
  Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service, Transportation 
  Security Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security:
  Oral Statement.................................................    11
  Joint Prepared Statement.......................................     8

                                Appendix

Questions From Chairman Bennie G. Thompson for the Transportation 
  Security Administration........................................    27

 
TAKING TO THE SKIES: EXAMINING TSA'S STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING INCREASED 
                             SUMMER TRAVEL

                              ----------                              


                         Tuesday, July 20, 2021

             U.S. House of Representatives,
                    Committee on Homeland Security,
                            Subcommittee on Transportation 
                                     and Maritime Security,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m., via 
Webex, Hon. Bonnie Watson Coleman [Chairwoman of the 
subcommittee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Watson Coleman, Payne, Titus, 
Gottheimer, Luria, Gimenez, Van Drew, Norman, and Miller-Meeks.
    Also present: Representative Thompson.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. The Subcommittee on 
Transportation and Maritime Security will come to order.
    Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare the 
subcommittee in recess at any point.
    Welcome to the Transportation and Maritime Security 
Subcommittee's hearing entitled ``Taking to the Skies: 
Examining TSA's Strategy for Addressing Increased Summer 
Travel''. Thank you to Ranking Member Gimenez and our panel of 
witnesses for joining us.
    As rates of vaccination against COVID-19 increase across 
the country, a growing number of travelers are taking to the 
skies once more. The numbers are striking. Indeed, on the first 
day of this month TSA screened more people in a day than it did 
on the same day in 2019, before the pandemic. The daily number 
of travelers screened at TSA checkpoints crossed the 2 million 
threshold multiple times in June.
    This is leading to fuller flights, longer lines at 
airports, and it seems, higher tension as passengers reacquaint 
themselves with the old and the new rules of flying.
    Today we will hear from our witnesses about how TSA is 
managing this increase in summer travel, as well as crucial 
information about TSA's role in addressing incidents of unruly 
passenger behavior at checkpoints and in the air. As travel 
increases, our witnesses will share what efforts TSA is 
undertaking to recruit and retain more Transportation Security 
Officers (TSOs) to ensure airports have adequate staffing.
    In addition, many of my colleagues and I are disturbed by 
the unacceptable rise in violence on planes and at airports 
that we have seen in the news. As Chair of this subcommittee, I 
am particularly perturbed by the number of violent assaults 
against our TSOs in recent months. More than 70 TSOs have been 
assaulted since the start of the pandemic. These hardworking 
men and women, they have been on the front lines throughout the 
pandemic and simply should not have to endure this kind of 
treatment.
    Another alarming trend we are seeing is the uptick in 
firearms, most of them loaded, that have been found in 
passengers' carry-on baggage. According to TSA, 2,800 firearms 
have been caught at checkpoints so far this year. I am hopeful 
that our witnesses will share their perspectives on these 
encounters and what can be done to prevent them. While the pace 
of recovery in air travel is encouraging, we must not forget 
that the Coronavirus, and particularly the dangerous Delta 
variant, is still at large. The mask mandate aboard planes and 
in airports remains in place until September 13 and now is not 
the time to let our foot off the gas in terms of doing all that 
we can to prevent the virus' spread. As more travelers take to 
the air, I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about 
TSA's strategy thus far and future plans.
    Thank you.
    [The statement of Chairwoman Watson Coleman follows:]
             Statement of Chairwoman Bonnie Watson Coleman
    Good morning, and welcome to the Transportation and Maritime 
Security Subcommittee's hearing entitled ``Taking to the Skies: 
Examining TSA's Strategy for Addressing Increased Summer Travel''.
    As rates of vaccination against COVID-19 increase across the 
country, a growing number of travelers are taking to the skies once 
more.
    The numbers are striking. Indeed, on the first day of this month, 
TSA screened more people in a day that it did on the same day in 2019, 
before the pandemic. The daily number of travelers screened at TSA 
checkpoints crossed the 2 million threshold multiple times in June.
    This is leading to fuller flights, longer lines at airports, and, 
it seems, higher tensions as passengers reacquaint themselves with the 
old and new rules of flying.
    Today we will hear from our witnesses about how TSA is managing 
this increase in summer travel, as well as crucial information about 
TSA's role in addressing incidents of unruly passenger behavior at 
checkpoints and in the air.
    As travel increases, our witnesses will share what efforts TSA is 
undertaking to recruit and retain more TSOs to ensure airports have 
adequate staffing.
    In addition, many of my colleagues and I are disturbed by the 
unacceptable rise in violence on planes and at airports that we have 
seen in the news.
    As Chair of this subcommittee, I am particularly perturbed by the 
number of violent assaults against our Transportation Security Officers 
(TSOs) in recent months. More than 70 TSOs have been assaulted since 
the start of the pandemic.
    These hardworking men and women have been on the front lines 
throughout the pandemic, and simply should not have to endure this kind 
of treatment.
    Another alarming trend we are seeing is the uptick in firearms--
most of them loaded--that have been found in passengers' carry-on 
baggage.
    According to TSA, 2,800 firearms have been caught at TSA 
checkpoints so far this year. I am hopeful that our witnesses will 
share their perspectives on these encounters and what can be done to 
prevent them.
    While the pace of recovery in air travel is encouraging, we must 
not forget that the coronavirus, and particularly the dangerous Delta 
variant, is still at large.
    The mask mandate aboard planes and in airports remains in place 
until September 13, and now is not the time to let our foot off the gas 
in terms of doing all that we can to prevent the virus's spread.
    As more travelers take to the air, I look forward to hearing from 
our witnesses about TSA's strategy thus far and plans for the future.
    Thank you, and with that I recognize Ranking Member Gimenez for his 
remarks.

    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. The Chair now recognizes the 
Ranking Member of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Florida, 
Mr. Gimenez, for an opening statement.
    Mr. Gimenez. Thank you, Chairwoman Watson Coleman. I really 
appreciate that.
    I am pleased that the subcommittee is holding this hearing 
today to discuss how TSA is securing the traveling public in 
our Nation's airports as air travel begins to recover.
    As we emerge from the pandemic's devastating toll on air 
travel and the transportation sector, Americans are 
increasingly ready to return to travel to conduct business, 
enjoy vacations, and visit family. I was pleased to see that 
TSA screened over 2.2 million passengers on Sunday, which is 
the highest level of air travel volume since March 2020. In 
addition, there have been 10 days already this month of over 2 
million daily travelers.
    On my way to the District of Columbia from Miami yesterday, 
I saw this increased passenger volume first-hand. The lines for 
security were the longest that I have ever seen there at Miami 
International Airport. The line for TSA PreCheck was nearly 50 
yards long from front to back. Again, that is the longest line 
I have ever seen on TSA PreCheck.
    What I am understanding is that, at least at MIA, they are 
back to almost 95 percent of air travelers. It is a huge 
international hub and international businesses is way down. So 
once international travel starts to pick up again, we may 
actually surpass pre-pandemic levels.
    We must ensure our security checkpoints are properly 
staffed for the number of travelers that they are seeing. This 
issue must be addressed quickly to meet the growing demand on 
air travel. I am heartened now that leisure air travel has 
recovered to 75 percent around the country to pre-pandemic 
levels, but TSA needs to be ready for an increase in business 
travel, this fall is where there will be a projected increase 
in international travel.
    I remain concerned that staffing shortages at our Nation's 
airport checkpoints will continue to grow as passenger volumes 
increase.
    I look forward to hearing from today's witnesses about 
TSA's efforts to hire additional screeners for summer travel. I 
believe that an obstacle to recruiting and retaining TSA 
officers is that they need to be paid more. Increasing TSO pay 
is important to maintaining a strong front-line work force and 
to secure the traveling public.
    As passenger volume continues to increase this summer and 
into the fall, it is incumbent upon TSA to facilitate the 
higher travel volume in an efficient and very secure manner.
    Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I yield back the balance of my 
time.
    [The statement of Ranking Member Gimenez follows:]
             Statement for Ranking Member Carlos A. Gimenez
                             July 20, 2021
    Thank you, Chairwoman Watson Coleman. I am pleased the subcommittee 
is holding this hearing today to discuss how TSA is securing the 
traveling public and our Nation's airports as air travel begins to 
recover.
    As we emerge from the pandemic's devastating toll on air travel and 
the transportation sector, Americans are increasingly ready to return 
to travel to conduct business, enjoy vacations, and visit family. I was 
pleased to see that TSA screened over 2.2 million passengers on Sunday, 
which is the highest level of air travel volume since March 2020. In 
addition, there have been 10 days already this month of over 2 million 
daily travelers. On my way to DC from Miami yesterday I saw this 
increased passenger volume first-hand. The lines for security were the 
longest I have ever seen them and the line for TSA PreCheck was nearly 
50 yards from front to back.
    I am heartened that leisure air travel has recovered to 75 percent 
of its pre-pandemic level, but TSA needs to be ready for an increase in 
business travel this fall as well as projected increases in 
international travel. I remain concerned that staffing shortages at our 
Nation's airport checkpoints will continue to grow as passenger volume 
increases.
    I look forward to hearing from today's witnesses about TSA's 
efforts to hire additional screeners for summer travel. I believe that 
an obstacle to recruiting and retaining Transportation Security 
Officers is that they need to be paid more. Increasing TSO pay is 
important to maintain a strong front-line workforce to secure the 
traveling public.
    As passenger volume continues to increase this summer and into the 
fall, it is incumbent upon TSA to facilitate the higher travel volume 
in an efficient and secure manner.
    Thank you, Madame Chairwoman, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.

    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you, Ranking Member.
    Members are also reminded that the subcommittee will 
operate according to the guidelines laid out by the Chairman 
and the Ranking Member in their February 3 colloquy regarding 
remote procedures.
    The Chair now recognizes the Chairman of the full 
committee, the gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Thompson, for an 
opening statement.
    Mr. Thompson. Thank you, Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank 
you to our witnesses for joining us today.
    For much of last year, the skies were empty. Vaccines were 
a distant dream, and at one point, it seemed airlines were on 
the brink of collapse. At the beginning of lock-down, there 
were days where TSA screened less than 100,000 passengers. In 
contrast, this month, TSA routinely screens over 2 million 
passengers annually. But unfortunately, our Nation's return to 
travel has not gone seamlessly. Long lines have returned at 
checkpoints, meaning TSA has had to fight for more talent in 
this competitive job market. That fight for talent is hindered 
by the fact that TSA workers still do not receive the pay and 
protections afforded to other Federal workers, though I am glad 
to be working with the Biden administration to fix that 
problem. TSOs work hard under normal conditions. But the 
combination of COVID-19 and a dramatic uptick in unruly 
passengers has made the job even more challenging. Across the 
country, dozens of TSOs have been physically assaulted in 
recent months. Passengers have pushed and shoved officers, and 
in some cases, passengers have literally bitten TSOs. Not only 
that, but the rate of firearms found at TSA checkpoints doubled 
last year. Consistently, over 80 percent of firearms--as 
already been said by the Chairwoman--have been found to be 
loaded. Passengers must leave their firearms at home or follow 
the proper procedures for checking them, as bringing them to 
the checkpoint creates disruptions that could prove dangerous. 
Needless to say, this is a concerning convergence of trends.
    There has been a significant spike in disruptive passengers 
in the sky, as flight attendants have been assaulted or 
harassed with regularity. All too often, these assaults occur 
simply because a crew member was doing their job and seeking to 
enforce common-sense mask policies designed to protect fliers 
from COVID-19. Although the public is most familiar with TSA's 
on-the-ground responsibilities, Federal Air Marshals play an 
essential role in aviation security once passengers get on 
board. We must ensure flight crews have the training and 
Federal support they need to confront this uptick in assaults.
    It is imperative that the entire TSA enterprise has a 
strategy for addressing the challenges by increased travel and 
unruly passengers.
    Thank you again to our witnesses. I appreciate your efforts 
to protect the traveling public and look forward to your 
testimony.
    [The statement of Chairman Thompson follows:]
                Statement of Chairman Bennie G. Thompson
    Thank you to our witnesses for joining us today.
    For much of last year, the skies were empty. Vaccines were a 
distant dream, and at one point, it seemed airlines were on the brink 
of collapse.
    At the beginning of lockdown, there were days where TSA screened 
less than 100,000 passengers. In contrast, this month, TSA routinely 
screens over 2 million daily passengers.
    But unfortunately, our Nation's return to travel has not gone 
seamlessly. Long lines have returned at checkpoints, meaning TSA has 
had to fight for more talent in this competitive job market.
    That fight for talent is hindered by the fact that TSA workers 
still do not receive the pay and protections afforded to other Federal 
workers--though I am glad to be working with the Biden administration 
to fix that problem.
    TSOs work hard under normal conditions. But the combination of 
COVID-19 and a dramatic uptick in unruly passengers has made the job 
even more challenging.
    Across the country, dozens of TSOs have been physically assaulted 
in recent months. Passengers have pushed and shoved officers, and in 
some cases, passengers have literally bitten TSOs.
    Not only that, but the rate of firearms found at TSA checkpoints 
doubled last year. Consistently, over 80 percent of firearms found are 
loaded. Passengers must leave their firearms at home or follow the 
proper procedures for checking them, as bringing them to the checkpoint 
creates disruptions that could prove dangerous.
    Needless to say, this is a concerning convergence of trends.
    There has also been a significant spike in disruptive passengers in 
the sky, as flight attendants have been assaulted or harassed with 
regularity. All too often, these assaults occur simply because a crew 
member was doing their job and seeking to enforce common-sense mask 
policies designed to protect fliers from COVID-19.
    Although the public is most familiar with TSA's on-the-ground 
responsibilities, Federal Air Marshals play an essential role in 
aviation security once passengers get on board. We must ensure flight 
crews have the training and Federal support they need to confront this 
uptick in assaults.
    It is imperative that the entire TSA enterprise has a strategy for 
addressing the challenges by increased travel and unruly passengers.
    Thank you again to our witnesses. I appreciate your efforts to 
protect the traveling public and look forward to your testimony.

    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I now welcome our panel of witnesses today.
    Mr. Darby LaJoye is the executive assistant administrator 
for security operations at the Transportation Security 
Administration after recently returning from a stint as acting 
TSA administrator.
    In his current role, he oversees checkpoint and baggage 
screening operations impacting millions of passengers at 
approximately 440 airports every day, oversight of over 280 
international airports, conducting last-points-of-departure 
operations to and from the United States, and a surface network 
that encompasses freight, railroad, passenger rail, mass 
transit, maritime, and pipelines.
    Mr. Michael Ondocin is the executive assistant 
administrator of law enforcement in the Federal Air Marshal 
Service at the TSA. In his role he oversees the deployment of 
Federal Air Marshals on U.S. aircraft world-wide, as well as 
protection, response, detection, and assessment activities in 
airports and other transportation systems.
    Without objection, the witnesses' full statements will be 
inserted into the record.
    I now ask each witness to summarize his statements for 5 
minutes, beginning with Mr. LaJoye.

 STATEMENT OF DARBY LAJOYE, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR 
       FOR SECURITY OPERATIONS, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 
      ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

    Mr. LaJoye. Good morning Chairwoman Watson Coleman, Ranking 
Member Gimenez, and distinguished Members of the subcommittee. 
Thank you for inviting me to testify before you today. I 
appreciate the opportunity to discuss Transportation Security 
Administration's (TSA's) operations and strategy for addressing 
increased summer travel.
    Like all of us, TSA faced tremendous challenges for the 
past nearly 18 months from this on-going global pandemic. When 
air travel came to a near standstill, our operational agility, 
the resilience of our work force, and the strength of our 
partnerships were tested like never before.
    I am incredibly proud of the way we have adapted to these 
unprecedented challenges and positioned our agency to support 
what has been a historical recovery in passenger demand. 
Through the darkest times of the pandemic, we never wavered 
from our solemn commitment of protecting the Nation's 
transportation systems and ensuring the freedom of movement of 
people and commerce.
    From the very beginning TSA placed the highest priority on 
the health and safety of our employees and that of the 
traveling public. We moved quickly to implement protective 
measures at security checkpoints and screening locations across 
the country. We enforced social distancing at our checkpoints, 
installed acrylic shielding to minimize personal contact, 
increased sanitization, and required officers to wear face 
masks, gloves, eye protection, and face shields.
    We used our personnel flexibility to offer new leave 
options for employees at higher risk of severe illness from 
exposure to the virus and maximized telework and flexible 
scheduling options whenever possible. We are the forefront in 
providing accelerated vaccine access through the Department's 
``Operation Vaccinate Our Workforce''.
    We took direct and meaningful action to supplement the 
world-wide pandemic response. We helped repatriate over 100,000 
American citizens stranded across 136 countries and facilitated 
the distribution of personal protective equipment and other 
critical supplies, such as ventilators, to countries around the 
world.
    Before I continue, I want to take a moment to thank our 
work force, our TSA officers, our coordination center officers, 
our Federal Air Marshals, our K9 teams, our aviation and 
surface cargo inspectors, our vetting personnel, and all the 
staff that stands behind them. To every single person who stood 
firm and fulfilled their duty, I am proud of their continued 
resilience and professionalism.
    Airport passenger volumes are finally nearing and 
consistently exceeding pre-pandemic levels. We anticipated this 
increase and began a concerted recruitment effort this past 
winter to hire the support needed to handle these increasing 
volumes throughout the remainder of the year.
    We also took additional measures, such as doubling the size 
of our National deployment force to provide resources where 
needed. TSA is also utilizing several monetary incentives to 
recruit new employees and retain our valued work force to 
ensure that adequate staffing levels continue.
    These efforts are already paying dividends. Sunday, July 18 
was one of the busiest air travel days of 2021, with TSA 
screening over 2.24 million passengers. Over the entire 4th of 
July holiday period, July 1 through July 7, TSA screened almost 
14 million passengers, with 97 percent waiting less than 20 
minutes in standard lanes and less than 5 minutes in TSA 
PreCheck lanes. More importantly, there were no major security 
incidents impacting the transportation sector. We are confident 
that TSA is prepared and well-positioned to continue to 
effectively meet increasing passenger volumes throughout the 
remainder of the summer.
    Unfortunately, with the increase in passenger volumes, TSA 
is also seeing an increase in unruly passengers at TSA 
checkpoints across the country and on-board aircraft. Since the 
beginning of the pandemic, there have been over 85 physical 
assaults on TSA officers.
    Additionally, we have seen a dramatic increase in the 
number of incidents on board aircraft, with over 3,600 in-
flight disturbances since the beginning of the pandemic. Sadly, 
many of these disturbances have become violent, resulting in 
assaults against fellow passengers and flight crew.
    Our industry partners have reported an increase in assaults 
in other modes of transportation as well.
    I want to thank those front-line transportation workers, 
including flight crew, who do their jobs every single day to 
make sure that the traveling public is safe.
    Additionally, and as noted by the Members, TSA continues to 
detect firearms on passengers and in carry-on bags at 
checkpoints at an alarming rate. As of early July, TSA detected 
2,807 firearms in 2021, 85 percent of which were loaded. In 
2020, TSA officers discovered a total of 3,257 firearms on 
passengers or in their carry-on bags at checkpoints. To 
increase awareness of the requirement for properly transporting 
firearms, TSA has enhanced communication and outreach efforts 
for the public and stakeholders.
    In February of this year, we published updated enforcement 
sanction guidance which increased civil penalty ranges that TSA 
can impose. For first-time violations, TSA may impose a fine of 
up to $10,000 if the firearm is loaded. Air travelers coming to 
checkpoints for the first time since before the pandemic may 
see some changes in the security technology they encounter. 
Throughout the pandemic TSA has worked to accelerate deployment 
of state-of-the-art technology, such as computed tomography, 
credential authentication technology, and on person screening 
enhancements. These technologies----
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Mr. LaJoye.
    Mr. LaJoye. Yes, ma'am?
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Mr. LaJoye, excuse me, you have 
gone beyond your 5 minutes. Could you just sort-of wrap it up 
and perhaps we can get to some of this with the questions?
    Mr. LaJoye. Yes, ma'am.
    Let me just end by thanking you all for the opportunity 
today and I look forward to answering questions.
    [The joint prepared statement of Mr. LaJoye and Mr. Ondocin 
follows:]
      Joint Prepared Statement of Darby LaJoye and Michael Ondocin
                             July 20, 2021
    Good morning Chairwoman Watson Coleman, Ranking Member Gimenez, and 
distinguished Members of the subcommittee. Thank you for inviting us to 
testify before you today and we appreciate the opportunity to discuss 
Transportation Security Administration's (TSA's) operations.
    First and foremost, we would like to recognize TSA's workforce--our 
Transportation Security Officers (TSOs), Federal Air Marshals, canine 
teams, inspectors, and other aviation and surface personnel--for their 
hard work and dedication during these unprecedented and challenging 
times. Our workforce has and continues to effectively execute the 
mission in a professional manner and adapt to accommodate various 
challenges, including increased travel volume as we recover from the 
COVID-19 pandemic as well as a growing number of incidents stemming 
from unruly passengers. Their hard work and vigilance allowed more than 
10.1 million travelers over the Fourth of July holiday weekend to 
safely and securely fly to and from their destinations in order to see 
loved ones, family, and friends--many for the first time since the 
onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thursday, July 1 was the busiest air 
travel day of the weekend, with TSA screening 2,147,090 people, which 
is slightly more than the 2,088,760 travelers screened on Thursday of 
the Fourth of July weekend in 2019. Daily airport passenger volumes are 
finally nearing, and occasionally exceeding, pre-pandemic levels as 
more people are getting vaccinated and travel restrictions are easing 
around the world. While the COVID-19 pandemic has tested our agility, 
the resiliency of our workforce, and the strength of our partnerships, 
TSA has adapted and maintained our security mission while working to 
ensure the health and safety of both our valued employees and the 
traveling public.
    In less than 2 months, the Nation will mark 20 years since the 
September 11 terrorist attacks. As we approach this milestone and 
emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, TSA remains focused on protecting 
the Nation's transportation systems. To achieve our mission, we have 
been guided by our continuing vision to be an agile security agency 
that engages its partners and the American people to outmatch a dynamic 
threat.
                           covid-19 response
    After the emergence of COVID-19, airport passenger screening 
volumes dropped as much as 97 percent, and TSA adapted our operations 
to protect the TSA workforce, traveling public, and other 
transportation workers from this global threat.
    Throughout the pandemic, TSA diligently followed guidance issued by 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration, and DHS, provided personal protective 
equipment (PPE) to our workforce, developed and implemented new 
protocols to support social distancing, and implemented other required 
standards and procedures. Our ``Stay Healthy. Stay Secure.'' campaign 
detailed the measures we implemented at security checkpoints across the 
Nation to make the screening process safer for passengers and our 
workforce by reducing the potential of exposure to COVID-19.
    In February 2021, in close coordination with our stakeholders, TSA 
implemented provisions of President Biden's Executive Order on 
Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel and 
enforced the related CDC Order by requiring travelers to wear face 
masks when they are in airports, bus and rail stations, as well as 
while on passenger aircraft, public transportation, passenger 
railroads, and over-the-road buses operating on scheduled fixed-routes.
    Our efforts to protect the workforce and traveling public, 
including the deployment of technologies to reduce contact between TSOs 
and passengers and their property, helped restore confidence that it is 
healthy and safe to travel. Those endeavors paved the way for the 
increased passenger volumes we are now seeing at airports around the 
country.
                   aviation security incident trends
    TSA has unfortunately seen an increase in unruly passengers at TSA 
checkpoints across the country and on-board aircraft. Since the 
beginning of the pandemic, there have been over 70 physical assaults on 
TSA officers and 3,600 in-flight disturbances. Before the pandemic, in 
2019, there were 1,230 in-flight disturbances, which was approximately 
2 incidents per 1 million passengers screened. Preliminarily, as of 
early July 2021, there have been 2,838 in-flight incidents thus far in 
2021, which is approximately 12 incidents per 1 million passengers 
screened. This shows a dramatic increase in the number of incidents on-
board aircraft, which occur for a variety of reasons, many of which are 
mask-related, frequently leading to agitated passengers who at times 
have become violent toward fellow passengers and the flight crew. Our 
industry partners have reported an increase in assaults in other modes 
of transportation as well.
    Additionally, TSA continues to detect firearms on passengers and in 
carry-on bags at checkpoints at an alarming rate. Preliminarily, as of 
early July, TSA detected 2,807 firearms in 2021, 85 percent of which 
were loaded. In 2020, TSA officers discovered a total of 3,257 firearms 
on passengers or in their carry-on bags at checkpoints, which was 
approximately 10 firearms per million passengers screened. 
Comparatively in 2019, the number was about 5 firearms per million 
passengers screened.
    To increase awareness on the requirements for properly transporting 
firearms, TSA enhanced communication and outreach efforts with the 
public and stakeholders. In February 2021, TSA published updated 
Enforcement Sanctions Guidance increasing the suggested civil penalty 
ranges TSA may impose. For first-time violations, TSA can impose a fine 
of up to $10,000 if the firearm is loaded.
                             summer travel
    The summer travel season has begun and TSA's diligent preparation 
has ensured it is ready for passenger volume to return. TSA anticipated 
this increase and began a concerted recruitment effort this past winter 
to hire the support needed to handle these increasing volumes 
throughout the remainder of the year. We also took additional measures 
such as converting part-time employees to full-time, increasing 
employee overtime, and adjusting shifts to support airline schedules. 
TSA is also utilizing several monetary incentives to retain our valued 
workforce and ensure adequate staffing levels.
    Those efforts are already paying dividends. Over the July 4 holiday 
travel period, TSA screened more than 10.1 million passengers, with 98 
percent waiting less than 20 minutes in standard lanes and 97 percent 
waiting less than 5 minutes in TSA PreCheck lanes. More importantly, 
there were no major security incidents impacting the transportation 
sector. We are confident that TSA is prepared and well-positioned to 
continue to effectively meet increasing passenger volumes through the 
remainder of the year.
                        technology advancements
    Air travelers coming to checkpoints for the first time since before 
the pandemic may see some changes in security technology they 
encounter. Throughout the pandemic, TSA worked in close partnership 
with DHS Science and Technology to accelerate deployment of state-of-
the-art technologies, such as Computed Tomography (CT), Credential 
Authentication Technology (CAT), and On-Person Screening enhancements. 
These technologies and enhancements represent significant advancements 
from current equipment used for identity verification and the screening 
of accessible property, reduce overall contact during screening, and 
improve the passenger experience. Major technological advancements 
include:
   Computed Tomography, or CT, produces high-quality 3-D images 
        that can be rotated up to 360 degrees on three axes for a more 
        thorough visual analysis of a carry-on bag's contents and 
        reduces the need to touch or manually check bags.
   Credential Authentication Technology, or CAT, machines 
        automatically verify identification documents presented by 
        passengers during the security screening process and confirm a 
        passenger's flight information and vetting status without the 
        need for our officers to see a boarding pass. TSA has worked to 
        modify CAT machines to allow self-service operation, so 
        passengers can scan their own photo ID without our officers 
        touching the document. Additionally, the Self-Service CAT with 
        camera (CAT-2) upgrade units promote social distancing, reduce 
        the need for a physical ID hand-off at the Travel Document 
        Checker, and make passenger screening more automated.
   Advanced Imaging Technology, or AIT, safely screens 
        passengers without physical contact for both metallic and non-
        metallic threats such as weapons and explosives. Enhancements 
        have reduced the number of false alarms at the checkpoint and 
        touchpoints by using even more sophisticated millimeter wave 
        technology.
    As of early July 2021, TSA has deployed 300 CT systems at 141 
airports and 4 laboratories, as well as 1,053 CAT units at 119 airports 
and 2 laboratories. The continued investment of fiscal year 2021 
appropriated funds supports the procurement and deployment of 
additional systems CT and CAT systems that will include smaller 
airports.
    In addition to these checkpoint technologies our biometric 
technology pilots have shown the potential for modern identity 
technology to enhance security effectiveness, improve operational 
efficiency, and yield a more streamlined passenger experience in the 
post-pandemic travel era. Along with biometrics development, digital 
credentials, such as mobile driver's licenses and digital passports, 
are becoming increasingly common. To further support the touchless 
experience at the checkpoint, TSA is actively exploring the integration 
of a mobile driver's license and other digital credential 
authentication capability with CAT-2 to process digital identity 
information and verify a person's identity at the airport checkpoint.
    Since TSA's inception, we have continuously refined and evolved our 
security approach by examining the procedures and technologies we use 
to secure our Nation's transportation systems. Technology advancements 
are just a part of TSA's multi-layered approach to ensuring 
transportation security.
                   multi-layered approach to security
    An integral part of TSA's multi-layered approach to security, 
especially as passenger levels return to pre-pandemic levels, are TSA's 
Passenger Screening Canine (PSC) teams. PSC teams strengthen checkpoint 
screening effectiveness, improve checkpoint efficiency, and provide an 
agile and adaptable resource to expand TSA's detection capabilities. 
The focus for TSA's PSC program is improving detection at TSA 
checkpoints and deterring insider threats in the airport environment. 
PSC teams are a cost-effective resource that provides valuable security 
enhancements and growth in this capability is important for future 
years.
    In addition to PSC teams, the Visible Intermodal Prevention and 
Response (VIPR) Program ensures that both aviation and surface 
transportation hubs do not become targets for our adversaries. The 
Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) works closely with Federal, State, 
and local law enforcement partners and stakeholders to conduct VIPR 
operations in all modes of transportation using a risk-based assessment 
framework. Through the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, VIPR Teams 
have conducted approximately 5,600 deployments at transportation venues 
Nation-wide to include National Special Security Events, like the 
Presidential Inauguration and the Presidential Address to the Joint 
Session of Congress, and Special Event Assessment Rating activities, 
such as the Super Bowl LV, the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, and 
the recent 4th of July Fireworks events in San Diego, San Francisco, 
and New York City.
                      federal air marshal service
    From the visible VIPR operations to covert flight coverage, the 
FAMS and its dedicated ranks of Federal Air Marshals (FAMs) continued 
its mission throughout the pandemic despite the significant drop in 
passenger volume. FAMs deploy on domestic and international flights 
based on intelligence and risk while maintaining the long-standing 
capability to redeploy FAMs based on changing intelligence and 
potential threats. FAMs are trained to take swift, decisive action 
based on the totality of the circumstances surrounding incidents on-
board an aircraft and are prepared to appropriately respond to a 
variety of situations and challenges associated with preventing and 
disrupting acts of terrorism across the transportation domain. However, 
they are not the only line of defense on-board an aircraft.
    Airline flight crew members are yet another layer of security and 
work in conjunction with the FAMS to ensure the safety of passengers. 
Since 2004, TSA has delivered the Crew Member Self Defense Program 
(CMSD), through a voluntary program of advanced self-defense training 
which includes classroom and effective hands-on training. The CMSD 
training curriculum includes a wide range of self-defense techniques 
with special emphasis on the airline crew deck environment. CMSD 
training classes are conducted in cities throughout the country where 
FAMS offices are located and as requested with specific airlines.
    The Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) Program, also managed by the 
FAMS, provides an additional layer of security to commercial airliners 
and, in particular, the flight deck from terrorist and criminal 
assault. FFDOs are pilots of commercial passenger or cargo aircraft who 
are trained to provide an additional layer of security by defending the 
flight deck against an act of criminal violence and air piracy that is 
attempting to gain control of the flight deck. TSA is grateful for the 
thousands of FFDOs who volunteer their service and perform a vital role 
in our National security aboard thousands of passenger and cargo 
flights monthly.
                                closing
    TSA remains dedicated to securing the Nation's transportation 
systems from terrorist attacks. As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic 
and approach the 20th anniversary of September 11, TSA stands firm and 
more resolved than ever to meet the needs of our Nation's security. We 
are focused on improving transportation security through TSA's multi-
layered approach to security and the development and implementation of 
intelligence-driven, risk-based policies and plans. We appreciate the 
subcommittee's continued support of TSA's mission and investments in 
the technology to keep the public safe.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman, Ranking Member Gimenez, and Members of 
the subcommittee, thank you for your continued support and engagement 
on these efforts and the opportunity to appear before you today. We 
look forward to answering any questions you may have.

    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you, Mr. LaJoye. I am 
certain that we will get to some of that additional information 
in questions, because you were heading into an area that we are 
very interested in. Thank you for that.
    I now recognize Mr. Ondocin to summarize his statement for 
5 minutes. Mr. Ondocin.

STATEMENT OF MICHAEL ONDOCIN, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR 
FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT/FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL SERVICE, TRANSPORTATION 
 SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

    Mr. Ondocin. Yes, good morning, Chairwoman Watson Coleman, 
Ranking Member Gimenez, and distinguished Members of the 
subcommittee. Thank you for this opportunity to testify before 
you today to discuss the Transportation Security Administration 
Law Enforcement Federal Air Marshal Service's approach in 
securing aviation travel, which continues to increase from very 
low levels at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    The dedication and commitment of our Federal Air Marshals 
to ensure the safety and security of our Nation's 
transportation system and its travelers is unwavering. Federal 
Air Marshals have played critical roles in the investigation 
and apprehension of suspects in the aviation domain, the 
protection of passengers and crew members, and the security of 
transportation hubs deterring terrorism.
    Throughout the unprecedented circumstances of the world-
wide COVID-19 pandemic, our work force steadfastly maintained 
the TSA mission in securing the Nation's transportation system, 
and more specifically, we remained focused on the highest risks 
to transportation. To maintain operations, the deployment of 
Federal Air Marshals during this time proved challenging. But 
the safety of our Federal Air Marshals was not overlooked or 
minimized for the sake of the mission. Our work force is our 
greatest asset and their health and wellness is vital to 
mission success.
    In a few weeks, we will mark 20 years since September 11 
when terrorists evaded security of the Nation's transportation 
system to kill thousands of people and inflict unimaginable 
damage. Today, TSA is postured to mitigate threats not only to 
aviation travel, but all modes of transportation with numerous 
layers of security. Two of these vital layers are our Federal 
Air Marshals, who deploy our missions aboard aircraft globally 
and throughout the many hundreds of transportation venues 
within the United States, and our Federal flight deck officers, 
who pilot thousands of aircraft prepared to protect the last 
threshold.
    The unique enclosed environment of an aircraft creates a 
challenging workspace for Federal Air Marshals, but they are 
highly skilled and trained to deal with a wide variety of 
situations, whether aboard an aircraft or in the general 
environment. The ability to rapidly deploy in order to respond 
and address world-wide threats, risks, and natural disasters 
has long been a capability of TSA's law enforcement Federal Air 
Marshal Service. Federal Air Marshals have aided in rescue and 
security efforts, stretching from New Orleans with Hurricane 
Katrina, the massive floods in Bismark, North Dakota, the 
evacuation of expatriates from Lebanon in 2007, and with the 
first wave of COVID-19 to hit the U.S. shores early 2020, our 
Federal Air Marshals assisted in the initial quarantine effort 
of those returning to the country on cruise ships.
    The volunteer force of Federal flight deck officers is 
composed of dedicated commercial airline pilots who not only 
pilot, but are armed to defend the flight deck at all costs. 
These men and women are trained at the Federal Law Enforcement 
Training Centers with the necessary skills to stop a threat to 
the aircraft's controls. Their selfless service aligns with 
TSA's commitment to aviation security and their presence 
ensures the security for thousands of flights.
    Visible, intermodal, prevention, and response teams, 
commonly known as VIPR teams, continue to aid local State and 
security stakeholders by providing Federal law enforcement 
support at transportation venues Nation-wide. Here again our 
Federal Air Marshals provide the unique skills and lend their 
experience within the transportation sector to our industry 
partners and fellow law enforcement agencies. I want to 
personally thank our Federal Air Marshals, Federal flight deck 
officers, and our transportation security officers, and the 
hundreds of mission support personnel for their service in 
securing our Nation's transportation system.
    I appreciate the subcommittee's continued support of TSA 
and its mission. Thank you for this opportunity today and I 
look forward to answering your questions.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you very much for your 
testimony.
    Both of you recognize that every Member of our committee is 
interested in the safety and security of our TSA employees on 
the ground and our air marshals and all passengers in the air, 
so we are going to have a series of questions that are trying 
to direct your attention and ask for some specific responses to 
those.
    I am going to recognize myself first for questions.
    I am very concerned about the reports of some 85 assaults 
against TSA officers since the start of the pandemic. I am 
interested in understanding what conditions and situations have 
preceded these assaults, and are these incidents, are they 
connected with frustration about the mask mandate or procedures 
and wait times, or is it alcohol consumption.
    Mr. LaJoye, I would like to start with you, if you could 
respond to that sort-of briefly.
    I think you have to unmute.
    While we are trying to connect you--we may have a problem 
connecting with you too, Mr. Ondocin.
    I am going to ask about the Federal Air Marshals here. I do 
recognize that TSA employees, a number of air marshals, that 
the exact number is a sensitive security information issue that 
can't be discussed in this forum, but speaking generally, given 
the recent increases in disturbances on flights, do you have a 
need for more air marshals and is the current rate at which the 
FAMs are on board and able to respond to these incidences 
sufficient?
    Mr. LaJoye and Mr. Ondocin, can you just nod if you are 
hearing me? There is no connectivity.
    Mr. Gimenez and Chairman Thompson, we are going to take a 
pause here and see if we can straighten this out. So we will be 
in recess until we can connect again to our witnesses.
    [Recess.]
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. We are now back in session. 
Thank you.
    As I was saying, I am particularly concerned with the 
reports of 85 assaults against TSA officers since the start of 
this pandemic. I would like to have your response to these 
questions, what conditions and situations preceded these 
events, these assaults? Are incidences connected with 
frustration about the mask mandate, frustration with screening 
procedures and wait times, or alcohol consumption?
    Mr. LaJoye.
    Mr. LaJoye. Well, thanks for that question, Madam Chair.
    I think it is fair to say that all of those conditions is 
something that we are experiencing and we just sadly had two 
assaults yesterday coming through one of our checkpoints. There 
has been some frustration over the mask mandate that has been 
widely reported, but we are also seeing a number of these, 
whether it is on our checkpoints or in the air, they are 
alcohol-related. I think, you know, our best judgment would 
dictate that all of these are having some type of an impact on 
what we are seeing transpire at our checkpoints and on-board 
the aircraft.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. So if you are observing 
passengers or potential passengers that are exhibiting these 
kinds of behaviors, exactly what do you all do in terms of 
whether or not they are allowed to get on the plane?
    Mr. LaJoye. Well, Madam Chair, so for anybody at our 
checkpoint who is exhibiting those types of behaviors, we 
immediately have law enforcement respond and we have had 
tremendous support from our airport law enforcement partners. A 
number of these assaults are resulting in arrests. So they 
never get through our checkpoints and they never get aboard the 
aircraft.
    So if we have a clear indication that at our checkpoint 
somebody is already exhibiting, you know, violent behavior, we 
will notify law enforcement and they will not proceed through 
the checkpoint. Ultimately, they will not board the aircraft.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. I would think that your response 
to assaults upon the TSOs is very severe. Could you give me 
some indication about have individuals been fined, have they 
been charged for assaulting these officers? What sort of 
penalties do they face? In general, are you keeping a log or 
record of incidences at the checkpoints with regard to people 
that you have had to remove? How many, what for, and what 
happened to them?
    Mr. LaJoye. Yes, ma'am.
    So I mean every one of these, every assault on a TSO we 
immediately investigate. So they are subject to a civil penalty 
up to almost $15,000 if it results in a physical assault. In 
addition, if they are a member of TSA PreCheck, it could result 
in a temporary on up to a permanent from TSA PreCheck, 
depending on the severity. As I stated before, a number of 
these resulted in local charges from law enforcement and 
additional we have had tremendous support from U.S. attorneys 
around the country in bringing Federal criminal charges, both 
in cases against our officers or against members of the flight 
crew. So it is both Federal and local criminal charges in 
addition to civil penalties, of the $15,000 and potentially a 
permanent ban from the TSA PreCheck.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Can you provide us with the 
information as to how many people have been fined, how people 
have been arrested?
    Mr. LaJoye. We can certainly provide that back for the 
record. You know, we will go back to the beginning of this 
pandemic in charting this and we will provide that back.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you very much.
    A quick question before my time is up to you, Mr. Ondocin. 
I know I recognize the number of Federal Air Marshals that you 
all employ as sort-of sensitive security information that can't 
be discussed in a forum of this nature, but given the recent 
increases in disturbances, do you have enough Air Marshals and 
is the current rate at which Federal Air Marshals are on board 
and able to respond to these incidences that have been 
demonstrated and verified sufficient?
    Mr. Ondocin. Yes, Madam Chair, at this point in time I do 
have enough Federal Air Marshals to cover our mission and our 
mission hasn't really changed since prior, you know, to COVID-
19. Our Federal Air Marshals are still out providing, you know, 
in flight security.
    As far as the amount of Federal Air Marshals over the next 
few years, I may need some support in hiring due to attrition 
as a large portion of our work force entered armed service 
right after 9/11 and will be coming up to their--you know, up 
to their 20th-year anniversary.
    But at this point in time, ma'am, I am confident that I do 
have enough Federal Air Marshals.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you, Mr. Ondocin.
    My time has expired, but I do have a second round of 
questions regarding Air Marshals and their well-being and the 
type of scheduling that takes place.
    But now I would like to yield to the Ranking Member, Mr. 
Gimenez.
    Mr. Gimenez. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I appreciate 
that.
    Mr. LaJoye, what happens to passengers that are carrying 
firearms either on their person or in their carry on bags?
    Mr. LaJoye. So it is immediately--when TSA detects the 
firearm on the X-ray, we will notify law enforcement and 
everything stops because, you know, to the point we were 
raising earlier, this very much is a public safety concern for 
our checkpoints. Nearly 85 percent of the weapons that we 
encounter are loaded, oftentimes haphazardly thrown in a bag. 
So our first priority is to stop and allow law enforcement to 
take control of that situation. Then they are--depending on 
what the various State and local laws may be, you know, law 
enforcement will take a fraction--it could be anything from an 
arrest, it could be, you know, placing the weapon in a safe 
location, you know, allowing the passenger to return it in some 
cases. But the very first instance for TSA is to notify State 
and local law enforcement to take control of that situation.
    Mr. Gimenez. There is no Federal law prohibiting somebody 
transporting a firearm, trying to get a firearm onto an 
airplane?
    Mr. LaJoye. There are certainly a number of civil statutes 
that would prohibit somebody from bringing a weapon on board 
the aircraft. So immediately following the law enforcement 
actions TSA investigates every one of these circumstances for a 
civil penalty.
    Mr. Gimenez. Not a criminal penalty? I understand--look, I 
understand that some people may have--may inadvertently leave a 
firearm in a carry on, et cetera, and I understand that, but 
there is not--the civil penalty is not a criminal penalty to do 
that?
    Mr. LaJoye. Well, they get--each one of these are going to 
depend on the circumstance. We would have to defer to DOJ on 
that. But I think one of the challenges is that intent--the 
intent element is not something that is in a Federal criminal 
statute. So it really depends on what, if any, aggravating 
circumstances may be present. If the gun was stolen. Depending 
on the particular circumstances we do get support from the U.S. 
Attorney, but it is very much dependent on the individual 
circumstances of the case.
    Mr. Gimenez. All right, now, some of them are carry on. 
Some of them are actually--you find them on the person, right?
    Mr. LaJoye. That is correct. We have had circumstances 
where we found them on the person. I mean the predominance of 
these things are, you know, in a bag and the most often cited 
reason is they simply forgot it was in there. But we have had 
circumstances when we have discovered these things on their 
person.
    Mr. Gimenez. Would you say that the majority of those that 
have the gun on them have some kind of concealed weapons 
permit? That they just think that it is OK because they have a 
concealed weapons permit?
    Mr. LaJoye. I think that is certainly something that we 
encounter, sir. I mean, again, depending on the different 
State, when we find, you know, obviously thousands of weapons a 
year. So we can go back and see if we know how many of those 
cases those individuals have a concealed carry permit.
    But to your point I think, the way we focus on this is two-
fold. We prioritize the enforcement action. So we have actually 
added 6 aggravating factors to a weapon, if it is loaded, if 
there is a round that is chambered, if they are a member of TSA 
trusted travel program or an employee of transportation, that 
is considered an aggravating factor. But, again, the most often 
cited reason, they simply forgot it is in there. So we actually 
developed a pamphlet that we issued in the spring and summer to 
get word out for how people can properly transport weapons if 
they travel.
    Mr. Gimenez. What happens to somebody who tries to do this 
two times? Twice. Do you have a database of people that you 
have seen try to get through TSA with a firearm and then 
somehow try to do it again?
    Mr. LaJoye. We do. Now, our numbers are--the number of 
repeat offenders is about 6 percent. It is about a handful of 
those who repeat it, you know, beyond two times. Frankly the 
penalties get quite severe for repeat offenders. That really is 
at the maximum civil penalties and number of these things at 
that point, again depending on the circumstances, may result in 
criminal penalties, whether State or local. But we do have that 
information, sir.
    Mr. Gimenez. Again, I don't know if you answered the 
question. Is it a Federal crime to try to bring a firearm onto 
an airplane?
    Mr. LaJoye. Depending on the circumstances it may, but the 
thing that is lacking in the Federal criminal statute--and 
again I have to defer to counsel--is the element of intent. So 
what we often hear is--our experience is generally on the 
circumstances themselves, may or may not result in a Federal 
charge.
    Mr. Gimenez. OK. Did you guys change policy at all, 
anything happen differently on Monday than--started something 
on Monday because of the--I mean what I saw personally was 
unbelievably long lines at TSA. Did you guys change or 
something or it was just a really heavy travel day?
    Mr. LaJoye. No, we have not changed any policy, sir. I 
think what you are recognizing is we are seeing an exceedingly 
increasing numbers of passenger volume. You know, just last 
week 117 airports are already exceeding what the volume is in 
2019, which is sort of pre-pandemic. That is how we measure 
things. You know, our experience every single day is when we 
have these wait times, every one of our lanes is open, so it is 
generally capacity constraints in the system or sometimes 
equipment could break. But our Federal security directors are 
getting their lanes open.
    Mr. Gimenez. OK.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you to the Ranking Member. 
Your time has expired.
    The Chair now recognizes the Chairman, Mr. Thompson.
    Mr. Thompson. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Let me 
thank the witnesses for their testimony.
    Mr. LaJoye, are you satisfied that with the present uptick 
in travel that TSA will be able to accommodate the manpower 
requirements going forward to address this?
    Mr. LaJoye. I am, Mr. Chairman. So year-to-date we have 
hired about 4,700 officers. Just the last 2 weeks--we track it 
every 2 weeks--we brought on almost 500 officers. We are on 
pace to meet the 6,000 number that we know we needed through 
the summer. But, again, I do recognize that we are facing the 
same challenges that many are in competing, you know, for 
talent. So this has really been a focus of ours, because while 
I am confident we have plans in place for the summer, I also 
recognize that as we get closer to the fall and winter, as 
business travel continues as well as international travel picks 
up, we are going to have to continue to look at our 
requirements working with the airlines to make sure that we 
into the fall and winter continue to have adequate resources in 
our airports.
    Mr. Thompson. So as you compete for talent, do you make 
some analysis of why TSOs leave TSA?
    Mr. LaJoye. We do, Mr. Chairman. Consistently what our 
internal, you know, FEVS scores show us is that our officers 
are very dedicated to the mission, but they leave because of 
pay. At this point, there are simply so many other 
organizations that would love to have, you know, TSA employees 
work for them, the most common reason that we find is that they 
are leaving because of inadequate pay.
    Mr. Thompson. Well, you know, there a lot of us who have 
advocated from the beginning to treat TSOs just like we do the 
majority of other Federal employees. So if we are, in effect, 
losing good people because of pay, why either the--as 
administrator or Secretary, won't we fix this? What is the 
problem with the fix?
    Mr. LaJoye. Well, I think, Mr. Chairman, we are certainly 
aware of your concerns in this area. Secretary Mayorkas, this 
has been a priority for the Secretary since he came into office 
and it has been a priority for Administrator Pekoske for the 
last 4 years. The Secretary has directed us to provide back to 
him a specific plan that addresses the structural problems with 
TSO pay, in addition some of the rights with collective 
bargaining and grievance procedures. So we owe that plan back 
to the Secretary. I would be happy to provide a briefing back, 
you know, once that plan is complete.
    Mr. Thompson. So when is it supposed to be back to the 
Secretary?
    Mr. LaJoye. We owe it to the Department, sir, the beginning 
of September. I can get the exact date back for the record.
    Mr. Thompson. Well, my concern is, if we are losing good 
people and it is a matter of pay and we don't pay people 
commensurate like with other Federal employees, if there are 
some authorities you lack, whatever it is, from what I hear 
from everyone who has been on this hearing so far, they want to 
fix it. So if there are problems, just give us the impediments 
and I think we will go forward. Because most of us go through 
airports every week and the No. 1 issue we hear from those TSOs 
is, ``I like my job, but as soon as I get my time, I am going 
to transfer because I can't support my family.''
    So thank you very much.
    The other question I have is in reference to Federal Air 
Marshals.
    So, Mr. Ondocin, do Federal Air Marshals currently have all 
the necessary authorities to address any and all issues around 
airline or passenger security in the air?
    Mr. Ondocin. Yes, sir, we do. Federal Air Marshals have 
authorities under ATSA and Title 49. They would have the same 
authorities as any other Federal law enforcement officer, you 
know, in the Government. But we have the appropriate 
authorities to conduct our mission, sir.
    Mr. Thompson. Thank you. So if an issue around a passenger 
having an issue with one of the employees on the plane in the 
air, that marshal has the authority to intercede? Mr.----
    Mr. Ondocin. Yes, sir. If a crime is committed on-board an 
aircraft by a--you know, by a passenger, our Federal Air 
Marshals do have the authority to enforce the law and make an 
arrest.
    Mr. Thompson. So that is if it is an issue around a mask or 
if it is any other issue? I don't want to split hairs with 
crime, but if--you know, if this passenger was just being 
totally unresponsive to the directions of other staff, that air 
marshal, under current authority, can intercede?
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. The gentleman's time has 
expired, but we are going to allow you to answer that question, 
please, as expeditiously as possible. Thank you.
    Mr. Thompson. Very kind, Madam Chair.
    Mr. Ondocin. So flight attendants, sir, are trained and, 
you know, we offer crew members self defense. They are trained 
to handle most minor offenses. If a mask--if a non-compliance 
with a mask turns into an assault or turns into a crime on-
board the aircraft, our Federal Air Marshals are trained to 
take appropriate----
    Mr. Thompson. Thank you, Madam Chair, for being so gracious 
with your time.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Mr. LaJoye, the Chairman is absolutely right about the 
level of pay being an incentive to stay or go, but it is even 
just more than just the pay you pay them, it is the 
predictability of the regular increases and it is the other 
pension and benefits that are accorded those individuals that 
are under Title 5. We are very interested in ensuring equality 
under this opportunity.
    The Chair now yields to the gentlelady from Iowa, Ms. 
Miller-Meeks.
    Ms. Miller-Meeks. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to thank 
our gentlemen for their testimony.
    So I will pontificate a little bit as well. So Members of 
Congress travel a lot. That is no surprise. I go back to my 
district in Iowa every opportunity that I have. I find that it 
keeps me humble and also my constituents bring up things to me 
that end up becoming resolutions or letters or laws. So most 
recently when I travel I go through a lot of airports that I am 
not sure what you would consider their size, you know, in towns 
of 200,000-300,000 people. The past two airports that I have 
gone through the TSA PreCheck line has not been utilized. We 
have all been funneled through the same line and they diverted 
out of the body scanner to the regular metal detector. But my 
point in that is that I counted over 12 people going through 1 
line and other people standing around not doing anything.
    So that leads into my question. So I just want to point out 
that in several airports I had seen a lot of personnel who are 
not actively engaged in screening individuals. They may be 
actively engaged in other things.
    So I think understanding from your written testimony that 
we expected the checkpoints over the July 4 holiday travel 
period to have significant delays. But I am also learning form 
airports that some had significant longer delays than other 
airports. Does TSA track in real time the wait times at all 
airports based on Congress' definition of the TSA Modernization 
Act of 2018? Who guides in an individual airport how people are 
assigned?
    Mr. LaJoye. So thank you for that question, ma'am.
    So the answer is yes, we do track wait times across all of 
our airports, which is how we are able to articulate, you know, 
what our averages, but we also track the number of what we 
would call excessive wait times. Hopefully the point I made in 
my earlier comments is that, you know, for us, you know, we are 
very focused in making sure that we have all of our lanes open. 
What our experience generally is today is that we are having 
long wait times, but every single one of our lanes is open. 
That tells us we have adequate staffing in place and it is 
simply a capacity constraint of an airport. This is very 
common, especially now because most of the volume we are seeing 
is domestic travel. So a lot of these relatively small airports 
with one or two or a handful of lanes, every lane is open early 
and we are still having these wait times. On the ground our 
Federal security directors around the country are all 
responsible for working with their airport and their airlines 
to make sure that we understand what the schedules are going to 
be and we have adequate staffing in place.
    Ms. Miller-Meeks. Interesting. It hasn't been my experience 
through these--again, I am not sure what size airports you 
would consider them to be in towns of 200,000 or 300,000 
people, if that is a small airport.
    Which leads to my next question. Increasing the number of 
passengers enrolled in TSA PreCheck would supposedly better 
enable TSA to utilize its screening resources as travel volume 
continues to recover. I think for those of us that fly, we have 
absolutely seen travel volume increase dramatically.
    So, Mr. LaJoye, is TSA promoting enrollment in TSA PreCheck 
in smaller leisure markets that are experiencing extended wait 
times? Or, you know, are you wanting people to do both clear 
and TSA PreCheck depending upon their level of travel?
    Mr. LaJoye. Yes, Congressman. So the short answer is, you 
know, we are absolutely promoting TSA PreCheck. We have got 
over 400 enrollment centers around the country and our pre-
pandemic daily enrollments was about 10,000 people a day is 
what we were tracking. We are at about 98 percent of that now. 
In fact, last month, June, was our busiest month for 
enrollments in the last 5 years. So we are, you know, pleased 
with the progress that we are making. We still recognize there 
is a long way to go, but by the end of this year we will have 
three enrollment providers for TSA PreCheck that can all focus 
on increasing enrollments. This remains a priority of ours and 
we are starting to see PreCheck volume increase along with the 
general passenger increases we are seeing around our airports.
    Ms. Miller-Meeks. Great. Well, I really appreciate my TSA 
PreCheck and not having to take off my shoes. So thank you so 
much.
    Madam Chairwoman, I yield back my time.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you to the gentlelady.
    I now recognize Mr. Payne from New Jersey.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you, Madam Chair, and once again thank you 
for this timely hearing.
    Mr. LaJoye, my colleagues, the overall Chairman of the 
committee and the Chairwoman of this subcommittee, are truly 
diplomatic in their questioning with respect to TSO pay. I have 
not had as long a tenure as a legislator or a diplomat, so I am 
going to get right to the crux of this.
    You talk about a 4-year lag in a report and the Secretary 
wanting to do it. Why can't we do it? If we have known--I have 
been talking about the topic since the Chairwoman has arrived 
here in Congress, she has talked about it, the Chairman has 
been on the committee since it started, what is the hold-up in 
bringing a commensurate salary to the job that is being done by 
TSOs, the front line of security in this country?
    You know, it is common for the people doing the hardest 
work to be treated the worst. I won't make any analogies, but--
can you answer what has to be done? What can we do in Congress 
to expedite this?
    Mr. LaJoye. I think our experience, Congressman--and, 
again, I appreciate your concern, as well as the committee, on 
this issue. I can't underscore enough how much of a priority 
this is for both Secretary Mayorkas as well as Administrator 
Pekoske. Part of the work that we owe back to the Secretary is 
identifying the cost. You know, the work we did in the last 
Congress on estimating some of the costs with this--and there 
is a lot of work that still has to go into understanding this--
had a cost of moving the TSA work force into what would be 
comparable to Title 5, at around $3.8 billion. So there is a 
lot of work--how we classify the positions. So there is a lot 
of work that has to go into understanding what those total 
costs would be, but generally that has been the biggest 
obstacle to getting these things done over many, many years.
    Again, I will applaud the attention this is getting from 
both Administrator Pekoske and the Secretary, but at this point 
I think with respect to TSO pay, understanding what those costs 
are I think is going to be crucial in actually fixing what are 
the structural problems addressing TSO pay today.
    Mr. Payne. Well, I would think by this point in time that 
that should fairly be resolved, if we are talking about 4 
years, 5 years. I have been talking about it for 8 years. You 
know, when do we get the results? When do we get to the end of 
it?
    But it really is very concerning to me that it feels like 
we are just kind-of kicking the can down the road and these 
front-line workers are not being compensated to the levels and 
the degree of the importance of their job.
    Would you consider TSA--let us see, as you know, the 
Partnership for Public Service recently released rankings for 
the best places to work in the Federal Government for 2020. TSA 
ranked last in pay satisfaction, as we just discussed, near the 
bottom in its handling of COVID-19, and now TSOs are being 
assaulted at checkpoints across the country, as it was stated.
    Would TSA consider conducting a weekly survey of how many 
TSOs have been verbally harassed by passengers? Though this may 
not rise to the level of physical violence and the Government 
must be mindful of First Amendment rights, there is no way that 
getting shouted at every day when your mission is to keep the 
flying public safe can be good for TSO morale.
    Mr. LaJoye. Well, I think the short answer is, you know, 
anything that we can do to better understand what is happening 
with our officers I think we are in support of.
    As we talked earlier, we certainly have information on 
physical assaults, but I will commit to working with the staff 
to see if there is a way in which we can do some type of survey 
to better understand, aside from physical assaults, what kind 
of level of verbal abuse our officers are experiencing every 
day. So I will commit to working with the staff and getting an 
answer back to you, Congressman.
    Mr. Payne. Thank you.
    I will yield back the balance of my time.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you very much to the 
gentleman from New Jersey.
    I think we are going to engage in a short second round of 
questions, and I will recognize myself first for these 
questions.
    Mr. Ondocin, you had indicated that you would be seeking 
our help soon as it relates to I guess Federal Air Marshals 
maybe perhaps retiring or something because they have been 
there for a long time. When do you anticipate asking us for 
help and what is that help--in what form is that help supposed 
to come to you, or need to come to you?
    Mr. Ondocin. Yes, I think right now we are putting our 
first class of Federal Air Marshals into training in September. 
We haven't hired since 2017 because, quite frankly, we really 
haven't had a need. Our numbers have been pretty solid, our 
attrition rate has been pretty predictable.
    As we get into `23 and `24, I suspect a number of our 
Federal Air Marshals will be nearing retirement. I don't know 
at what point how many of our Federal Air Marshals will seek 
retirement, but I would seek your help down the road to ensure 
that we do have the ability to hire additional Federal Air 
Marshals.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you.
    Now, I recognize that a Federal Air Marshal's job in 
general has a bit of anxiety and it is very stressful, but I am 
very concerned about the reports of poor mental health among 
the FAMS work force. Is the operational tempo currently 
expected of FAMS' reasonable? What is TSA doing to support the 
mental and physical well-being of its air marshals?
    Mr. Ondocin. Yes, ma'am, and thank you for your question.
    I do think that the operational tempo of our Federal Air 
Marshal is probably the most moderate tempo that we have had 
since probably 2016 or 2017. We have put several scheduling 
guidelines in place to ensure that we are balancing the 
scheduling for our Federal Air Marshals. We have put a bunch of 
rule sets in place since I think 2018 or 2019 to make sure that 
we are utilizing our resources adequately and we are not 
putting undue burden on our Federal Air Marshals.
    So I feel confident that our scheduling--and I can't go 
over the actual numbers or the hours that our Federal Air 
Marshals are flying at this point, Madam Chair, but it is 
significantly less than what it was I would say probably 3 to 4 
years ago. And----
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. OK. Can you speak to the second 
part of my question?
    Mr. Ondocin. Yes, ma'am.
    As far as the mental health, obviously that is a 
significant concern, you know, of mine. We have on-boarded our 
psychologist. Dr. Talbot started on--actually she on-boarded on 
July 4. I actually met her in Atlantic City when I was doing 
some interaction with our training center and our employees. 
She is excited to be on board. She is currently working with 
our medical program section where she will review all of the 
records, our previous history, what we have done in the past 
for mental illness, and she will develop a plan, you know, 
moving forward. So she is on-board and we will utilize her 
resources both at the programmatical level and I would imagine 
we would use her at the field level as well.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Well, thank you.
    Mr. LaJoye, real quick question follow-up on the whole 
issue of the firearms and baggage. I understand that after the 
June 6 insurrection that airlines in particular had made 
decisions regarding firearms in their checked baggage and 
things of that nature. I am wondering, to what extend did the 
TSA engage in those discussions and offer guidance? What, if 
any, authority do you think you need that you don't have right 
now to ban firearms in checked baggage?
    Mr. LaJoye. Well, Madam Chair, we were certainly aware that 
the airlines were taking that, which was a policy position for 
them. But it was really--I would have to defer to the FAA 
because that goes--the legal relationship that airlines and 
their passengers have under the DOT and the FAA, authorities on 
the contract of carriage requirements. So we were aware that 
they were doing it, but I would have to defer to FAA for the 
legal relationship with how they did that.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. So let me ask you about TSA, 
since you all are the folks that keep people, you know--bad 
passengers and bad things happening from getting on the plane. 
Do you think that you need more authority in a particular law 
or whatever to give you the authority to ban these firearms 
from being in checked baggage?
    Mr. LaJoye. Well, I think with respect to firearms in 
checked baggage, we actually have a pretty high level of 
compliance with that. So our concern really is what is--the 
prohibition is having the firearms in checked baggage and on 
their person where they have access to it. I mean what our 
message is, is to get word out on how to properly travel with 
firearms that would require them to put them in their checked 
baggage, to property declare it, make sure it is properly 
stored with the ammunition.
    So our message is understand how to properly travel, which 
would be never in carry on, never on your person, but properly 
doing so in your checked luggage.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. One quick question. If you find 
an individual person has a firearm on his person and that 
individual has ammunition, you refer that person to law 
enforcement, right?
    Mr. LaJoye. It would be an immediate refer to law 
enforcement, ma'am. Immediate.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Does law enforcement remove that 
person from the line to get on the airplane?
    Mr. LaJoye. Yes, ma'am. The very first action law 
enforcement takes, whether--and again in the rare occasion it 
is on their person or in their accessible property, is to 
safely mitigate that. They remove it, they take it to a safe 
place in order to do what they do to make sure that the public 
is not at risk.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Is that person allowed on the 
plane?
    Mr. LaJoye. It would depend on the State or local laws and 
the circumstances of the actual incident.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you.
    I recognize Mr. Gimenez.
    Mr. Gimenez. Thank you, Madam Chair. I have no further 
questions at this time.
    Thank you.
    I yield back my time.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. With your indulgence then, Mr. 
Gimenez, I would like to ask another question about individuals 
who are taken by law enforcement when they are found with 
loaded guns or even unloaded in their position.
    Mr. Gimenez. I would welcome that. Actually, that was one 
of my questions to begin with. So go right ahead.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Mr. LaJoye, could you like 
expound on that just a little bit more because I--you keep 
saying that local law enforcement will mitigate it. I don't 
know what that really means in terms of what they will do.
    Mr. LaJoye. So in the first instance, ma'am, you know, our 
officers at the checkpoint are going to--they are going to see 
the image of the firearm in the X-ray tunnel of the CT machine. 
Our procedures are, they immediately stop and they are going to 
notify law enforcement because we won't take possession of that 
bag. Then local law enforcement will respond to the checkpoint, 
they will identify who the passenger is, they will safely take 
control of the bag that has the weapon in it. Then, to your 
point, a lot of which are loaded--and they will take it away 
from the checkpoint to begin their investigation.
    Depending on what the State and local laws are, that might 
be a check to see if they are properly licensed to do it. In 
some cases where irrespective of licenses it is illegal to have 
it, you know, they may issue an arrest at that point. But it 
really does depend after they immediately make sure there is no 
risk of safety or security at the checkpoint, it becomes 
whatever the local laws are going to dictate they would do at 
that point with respect to the individual and the weapon.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Does law enforcement separate 
the weapon from the ammunition even if a person is licensed to 
have that weapon?
    Mr. LaJoye. I think in a general sense I am confident in 
saying yes, ma'am. Because, again, their immediate action is to 
make sure there is no safety issue to the general public. So 
one of the very first things they are going to do is ensure 
that weapon is in a safe manner so they can carry it away from 
the checkpoint.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you very much. I would 
like to recognize the gentlelady from Nevada, Ms. Titus. Ms. 
Titus, I can give you a few more minutes than 5 because we had 
first and second rounds there.
    Ms. Titus. Well, thank you very much for indulging me to 
get here and for holding this hearing.
    Representing a city like Las Vegas, nothing can be more 
important than this. We know that a person's holiday begins 
when they land in the airport, so we want to start with a 
positive experience.
    Mr. LaJoye, I would just tell you that I appreciate the 
TSA's staffing up and hiring more people to meet the summer 
demands. It is coming fast. People have this pent-up desire to 
get out and go on holiday, and we are certainly seeing that in 
Las Vegas.
    But the TSOs at McCarran are telling me that hiring is 
going slowly. I certainly support giving bonuses for hiring, 
but what about the morale of the people who are already there 
and have been doing the hard work? Is there any way to reward 
those good officers? Because they are experiencing burnout and 
now they see new people coming in with a bonus. What can we do 
to help those who have been there on the front lines through 
all of this?
    Mr. LaJoye. Well, thank you, ma'am, for the question and 
for recognizing that.
    So one of the things we have done in addition to offering 
bonuses to attract new officers, we are giving existing 
officers a referral bonus if they tell a friend who wants to 
work for TSA. We are also giving retention bonuses to our 
officers--because we recognize that we are competing not only 
for new talent, but to keep the talent that we have. We have 
also increased the reward allocations of our field leaders. So 
this is certainly a priority for us. In fact, we have an entire 
suite of incentives that we have offered for hard-to-hire 
airports that we can submit back. It has sort-of the breakdown 
airport-by-airport for what they qualify for and everything we 
have been doing over the last several months to make sure that 
we get new officers and we keep the great talent that we have.
    Ms. Titus. Well, good, I am glad to hear that because they 
have definitely done the work and put themselves in danger to 
keep travelers and all of us safer. So we don't to forget them 
as we try to expand.
    Speaking of putting in danger, I would like to ask you some 
more about the vaccine program. I know that you all did a--
vaccinated our work force, which was great. What happened at 
McCarran was that many of the TSOs were worried about, they got 
the vaccination but their families didn't and they live in 
multi-generational households, and that is especially true for 
Hispanic families. I wonder if there is any plan to encourage 
or to assist or to do yourselves some kind of program like 
that, to help in those more hesitant communities and protect 
not just the worker but their whole family.
    Mr. LaJoye. Well, again, thanks for that question, ma'am, 
and for recognizing the importance of Operation Vaccinate our 
Workforce.
    So the TSA numbers presently, as measured about a week ago, 
about 63 percent of TSA employees have gotten their first shot 
and about 45 percent are fully vaccinated. Our chief medical 
officer has really done an excellent job of making sure that 
location by location, if we have access to programs that can 
help vaccinate not only our officers, but also their families, 
that we are getting that word out. Again, I would applaud all 
of our Federal security directors around the country because 
they have diligently, for a number of months now, made sure 
they had local information to get out their work force. So this 
remains a priority of ours, and you have my commitment if there 
is something more we can and should be doing to get the word 
out, we will certainly do that.
    Ms. Titus. Well, that is good. I hope you will work with 
the unions in the different airports too because, you know, 
sometimes people don't trust the Government, but they trust 
somebody they know, whether it is a trust or a family member or 
a union that they belong to. So I hope you will work with them 
too.
    Speaking of the vaccination, since people are traveling the 
rates are going up. Certainly in Las Vegas and Nevada, our 
rates are going up. Do you all have any plans to monitor that 
or do anything special in those hot spots to protect your 
members?
    Mr. LaJoye. Well, something, ma'am, to your point that we 
monitored from the very beginning. I mean we are starting to 
see I mean these Delta variants. We are certainly, you know, 
very concerned by what we are seeing. Our officers are still on 
the front lines. So the manner in which we were postured at the 
height of the pandemic with respect to taking measures to 
protect our work force is exactly where we are committed today. 
Every single day, we get reports on the number of our employees 
who are contracting COVID-19. As we start to see an increase in 
certain locations, we work very diligently to make sure that we 
are taking the proper steps to help protect our work force. 
This remains a concern of ours and we will do so in the future.
    Again, it is why it is important for us to continue to work 
very closely with the CDC on this.
    At every level in the organization, we are very closely 
coordinating with them because we are relying on them to give 
us the very best information that they have available.
    Ms. Titus. Well, thank you.
    Thank you, Madam Chairman. I look forward to working with 
you and TSA to be sure that our folks stay protected and our 
travelers.
    So thank you very much.
    I yield back.
    Chairwoman Watson Coleman. Thank you very much. I don't see 
that there are any more questions for you.
    Let me say thank you very much to both of you for your very 
valuable testimony and for, you know, recognizing that we are 
very concerned and want to be very supportive of the needs of 
TSA and the air marshals and the officers that are on the front 
lines because we do respect the fact that they have been there 
in the midst of all of this during the entire time. So please 
know that we want to make sure that Congress is doing 
everything it can to let them understand and appreciate that we 
appreciate them and support the things that they do.
    The Members of this subcommittee may have additional 
questions for you. As a matter of fact, we did ask you for some 
information regarding incidences. We would ask that you would 
respond expeditiously in writing to those questions.
    The Chair reminds the Members of the subcommittee that the 
committee's record will remain open for 10 days.
    Now, without objection, the subcommittee stands adjourned. 
Thank you so much for your participation.
    [Whereupon, at 11:16 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

                            A P P E N D I X

                              ----------                              

   Questions From Chairman Bennie G. Thompson for the Transportation 
                        Security Administration
                           unruly passengers
    Question 1. How is TSA communicating with its front-line officers 
and Federal Air Marshals, including through engagement with their labor 
organizations and professional associations, to receive feedback on how 
TSA can effectively deter disorderly passenger incidents at the 
checkpoint and in the air?
    Answer. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has 
multiple channels for our front-line officers and other employees to 
submit feedback, ask questions, and offer suggestions on issues 
impacting the agency's operations and mission. We regularly facilitate 
forums such as town halls with the TSA administrator and other senior 
leaders to hear directly from the full TSA workforce; hold local 
airport meetings and town halls between field personnel and airport 
leadership; lead regular discussions between field and agency 
leadership to share information and problem solve; and encourage 
Transportation Security Officers (TSO) involved in specific incidents 
to reach out to their local management team to discuss lessons learned 
and devise future mitigation strategies. In addition, TSA IdeaFactory 
platform provides an on-line means by which employees can submit 
recommendations. Finally, we regularly engage with employee labor 
unions and professional associations on topics of mutual interest to 
hear and consider alternate perspectives and partner on solutions.
    Question 2a. How many passengers have been added to the Selectee 
List, the ``95'' list, or any other list as a result of unruly behavior 
since the start of the pandemic in March 2020?
    Question 2b. How many individuals are on such lists in total due to 
unruly behavior?
    Question 2c. Is their inclusion on the list permanent or for a 
finite amount of time? How is the length of time determined?
    Question 2d. For what purposes are such lists used? Do individuals 
on such lists receive enhanced screening?
    Answer. The Selectee List is managed by the Threat Screening Center 
(TSC). Questions relating to whether passengers have been added to the 
Selectee List are within the purview of TSC. Separately, TSA maintains 
its own watch lists to take appropriate action with respect to 
individuals who may pose a threat to transportation or National 
security. The specific number of individuals on the TSA Watch Lists or 
the TSA PreCheck Disqualification Protocol is Sensitive Security 
Information. These lists complement other measures, such as enforcement 
of aviation regulations, to address the threat posed by unruly 
passengers.
    Placement on a TSA Watch List may result in generation of a 
security notification, designation for enhanced screening, or denial of 
boarding. Security notifications are used to provide TSA personnel at a 
particular airport with forewarning that an individual who has 
previously been involved in a security incident is scheduled to travel 
through that airport. Security notifications do not result in 
individuals receiving enhanced screening.
    TSA reviews available information regarding individuals placed on a 
TSA Watch List no less than quarterly to determine if placement the 
list remains appropriate under the facts and circumstances. Passage of 
time and further travel without incident are considered to be 
mitigating factors during these reviews.
    Placement on the TSA PreCheck Disqualification Protocol List 
results when an individual has committed a violation of a TSA security 
requirement. The period of disqualification, which can range from 6 
months to permanent, is determined based on 3 factors: (1) Which 
security requirement has been violated; (2) the seriousness of the 
violation; and (3) whether the individual has a history of committing 
violations of TSA security requirements.
    The TSA PreCheck Disqualification Protocol List is used to 
preclude such individuals from being designated for expedited 
screening. No enhanced screening is required as a result of placement 
on this list.
    Question 3. Has TSA collaborated, or will TSA consider 
collaborating, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and 
industry to conduct an analysis of what airports and regions unruly 
passenger incidents occur most frequently in? Could such an analysis 
inform interagency efforts to prevent these incidents?
    Answer. TSA collaborates with the Federal Aviation Administration 
(FAA) on mask-related incidents. TSA requires airports and airlines to 
report mask-related incidents to the Transportation Security Operations 
Center and shares this information with the FAA. TSA requires that any 
incident deemed a security incident be referred to TSA. The FAA manages 
incidents that involve safety or interference with crew. TSA conducts 
weekly calls with industry to share data related to investigations of 
incidents of non-compliance with the mask mandate, regardless of 
whether the incident involves unruliness, and identifies the airports 
where the most violations occur. The FAA participates on these calls 
and shares the numbers of incidents that they are investigating as 
well.
                increased travel volume and tsa staffing
    Question 4. Which airports are facing the largest Transportation 
Security Officer (TSO) recruitment challenges, and what is TSA doing to 
ensure those airports will be fully staffed throughout the summer and 
into the holiday season? What are the greatest challenges to 
recruitment for TSA in those markets, and overall?
    Answer. Airports facing the largest recruitment challenges include: 
Boston Logan International Airport, Denver International Airport, 
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Minneapolis/St. Paul 
International Airport, St. Louis Lambert International Airport, Salt 
Lake City, Boise, Lihue, Kahului, Kailua, Memphis, Grand Rapids, Reno-
Tahoe International Airport, Little Rock International Airport, 
Bismarck, Myrtle Beach, Santa Barbara, Northwest Arkansas Regional 
Airport, Billings, and Burlington. Based on anticipated seasonal travel 
trends in the summer months and the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations 
for the general public, TSA launched National efforts to recruit new 
TSO employees in support of screening operations at airports Nation-
wide. Increased and targeted recruitment advertising, virtual job 
fairs, and large-scale expedited hiring events in dozens of cities have 
been and continue to be used to engage individuals seeking job 
opportunities within TSA.
    For the TSO position as a whole, TSA is facing many of the same 
recruitment challenges of other entry-level employers: Increased 
employment competition, rapid wage growth, and residual COVID-19 
impacts. In particular, given the nature and duties of the TSO, which 
require close contact with high volumes of the traveling public, COVID-
19 risks often deter interest in the TSO position. To address these 
challenges, TSA is using retention, referral, recruitment, and 
readiness incentives to both attract and retain officers.
    For locations with significant staffing challenges, TSA has 
deployed National Deployment Force personnel to supplement the local 
airport staffing levels.
    Question 5. How many retention bonuses has TSA paid out? Has there 
been increased retention among those hired under this program?
    Answer. From the onset of the Recruitment Incentive program in 
March 2021, spanning fiscal year 2021 pay-periods 6-15 during,\1\ [sic] 
TSA has paid out 1,901 initial installments of recruitment incentives 
to TSO new hires across the country. This $1,000 incentive is paid in 
two installments--a $500 incentive at time of on-boarding and $500 at 
the 1-year of service mark. Given the recent establishment of these 
incentives, TSA does not have enough data to determine an impact on 
retention. However, it is believed this incentive has helped attract 
new applicants in a highly-competitive recruitment market.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Correlating calendar dates may be viewed on the National 
Finance Center's pay-period calendar for 2021; https://
www.nfc.usda.gov/Publications/Forms/1217n_21.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Question 6a. President Biden's fiscal year 2022 budget request for 
TSA predicted that travel volume would approximately match fiscal year 
2018 levels. Does TSA still believe that to be an accurate prediction? 
If not, what are TSA's updated estimates for the coming fiscal year?
    Question 6b. Given that the fiscal year 2022 budget request 
proposed a lower level of staffing, how will TSA pay for more screening 
staff should growing travel volumes require it?
    Answer. Based on the healthy recovery experienced this summer, TSA 
has updated its volume projections and now expects fiscal year 2022 
volume is to be on par with pre-pandemic levels experienced in 2019. 
The July 2021 daily average was 2.0 million passengers and we now 
expect that to grow to approximately 2.47 million passengers per day in 
July 2022. In comparison, original fiscal year 2022 volume projections 
were to return to fiscal year 2018 peak summer throughput level of 2.39 
million passengers per day by the summer of 2022.
    TSA based its fiscal year 2022 screener staffing and required 
funding levels on a COVID-recovery projected passenger volume 
equivalent to fiscal year 2018 levels. If, as revised projections now 
preliminarily indicate, volume increases beyond the fiscal year 2018 
level, we will work with the Department to explore options to address 
staffing levels that may be necessary to accommodate a higher than 
previously anticipated passenger volume.
    Question 7. As travel volume returns to pre-pandemic levels, how is 
TSA working with airport operators to address checkpoints that are at 
or over capacity?
    Answer. TSA engages with airport operators and other stakeholders 
both nationally and locally to share information regarding throughput, 
staffing, wait times, construction, technology enhancements, and a 
variety of other operational areas of common interest. As part of this 
dialog, TSA and its partners seek collaborative solutions to predicted 
challenges. Airport operators and airline personnel often assist with 
passenger management and flow during times of peak passenger volume.
    TSA continually analyzes flight data to predict staffing and 
screening lane requirements. When an analysis discovers repeated 
instances where passenger volumes exceed checkpoint throughput 
capacity, TSA works with industry partners to alter equipment layouts 
to support additional lanes, shift departures to different terminals or 
another checkpoint, or expand airport infrastructure. In the event 
infrastructure is not capable of expansion, TSA and its partners seek 
collaborative solutions. Finally, TSA and its partners continue to 
advise passengers to arrive early, take advantage of TSA PreCheck, and 
consider flying outside of peak times.
    Question 8. In response to a question from Rep. Miller-Meeks, Mr. 
LaJoye stated that ``by the end of this year, [TSA] will have 3 
enrollment providers for TSA PreCheck that can all focus on increasing 
enrollments.'' Please expound on TSA's PreCheck expansion efforts, 
particularly the progress of working with vendors to develop a fully 
mobile enrollment process for customers.
    Answer. TSA estimates that new enrollment providers will begin 
operations by the end of calendar year 2021, though this is dependent 
upon the new enrollment providers meeting all TSA requirements. Key 
milestones that the enrollment providers must achieve to become 
operational include:
   Successful testing of vendors' identity assurance 
        technology;
   On-boarding of vendor resources (to include review by TSA's 
        Personnel Security process);
   Training of trusted enrollment agents and customer service 
        representatives;
   Deployment of customer service support through a public-
        facing call center;
   Meeting TSA's information technology security, privacy, and 
        cybersecurity requirements through a TSA certification of the 
        vendors' enrollment systems;
   Approval from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to 
        submit fingerprints for a criminal history records check and 
        conduct recurrent vetting via the FBI's Rap Back program;
   Procurement of enrollment hardware; and
   Identification and deployment of enrollment locations.
    For each enrollment provider, this work is on-going.
    TSA, the FBI, and the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST) have been meeting regularly since October 2020 to 
determine how to best advance remote, mobile phone-based contactless 
fingerprint capture technology. While the FBI and NIST have been 
supportive of TSA's efforts to evaluate this technology, given various 
tests and evaluations of the technology, estimates are that it may take 
several years until the mobile phone-based contactless fingerprint 
collection technology advances to meet the FBI's current required 
levels of capture quality and matching accuracy.
    TSA, supported by the FBI and NIST, is working to sponsor a pilot 
with the current TSA PreCheck enrollment provider to test the accuracy 
of mobile phone-based contactless fingerprint technology. The FBI and 
NIST will evaluate the quality and matching accuracy of these 
contactless fingerprints. Given that the level of accuracy of 
contactless fingerprints is expected to be lower than traditional 
contact fingerprints, TSA will not use contactless fingerprints to 
determine TSA PreCheck eligibility and will not receive criminal 
history information based on these contactless fingerprints. TSA will 
continue to use contact-based fingerprints for all vetting and 
eligibility decisions. Once additional enrollment providers are 
operational, TSA will support additional mobile phone-based contactless 
fingerprint pilots.
    Question 9. What role, if any, did TSA play in helping airlines 
enforce their temporary January 6-related restrictions on the carriage 
of firearms in checked baggage?
    Should TSA have the authority to ban firearms in checked baggage in 
response to an imminent threat, rather than relying on airlines to do 
so at their discretion?
    Answer. On January 14, 2021, Transportation Security Administration 
(TSA) issued a Security Directive (SD), effective January 16-31, 2021, 
that required aircraft operators to notify TSA of any passengers with a 
final destination in the National Capital Region (NCR) who declared 
they had a firearm in their checked baggage. Rather than applying the 
measures in the SD for firearms transported in checked baggage, a 
majority of airlines operating in or out of the NCR completely banned 
transporting firearms during this period.
    Presently, TSA is prohibited from restricting the transport of 
firearms in checked baggage pursuant to 18 USC  926A. Amending this 
statute to allow TSA to respond to an imminent threat would be 
consistent with TSA's authorities in 49 USC  114, which authorizes the 
administrator to assess threats to transportation, to develop plans and 
countermeasures to address those threats, and to further coordinate 
with other departments and Federal agencies during National 
emergencies.
    Question 10. In many States, it is lawful for an individual to 
openly carry a gun in non-secure portion of an airport terminal. What 
precautions are taken by TSA, airport operators, and State and local 
law enforcement to ensure TSOs' safety in airports in these States?
    Answer. TSA has taken several actions to increase TSO safety in 
airports. First, from a training perspective, we have mandated active-
shooter training and require airports to conduct bi-annual evacuation 
drills. TSA often holds these drills and exercises with key 
stakeholders and first responders at the airport. Additionally, we have 
added thousands of additional duress alarms at TSA screening 
checkpoints and worked with airports to update their Airport Security 
Programs to include defined maximum wait times for a request for 
service. Last, TSA is continuing to have an increased Visible 
Intermodal Prevention and Response team presence at airports.
    Airport Operators are responsible for coordinating with State and 
local law enforcement to provide law enforcement presence and support 
in the airport to comply with the requirements of 49 CFR  1542. 
Additionally, many airports participate in the TSA Law Enforcement 
Officer (LEO) Reimbursement Program, which requires participating 
airports to have dedicated LEOs assigned to passenger screening 
checkpoints during operational hours. This visible and committed 
support at the passenger screening checkpoints aids in the safety and 
security of passengers and personnel. Airport Operators coordinate with 
their airport law enforcement representatives and TSA on initiatives to 
raise awareness about local firearms requirements and/or prohibitions. 
Signage, public announcements and social media postings are the primary 
methods airports use to raise awareness.

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