[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 78 (Thursday, June 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1033-E1034]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2012

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                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 1, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2017) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for 
     the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, and for other 
     purposes:

  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the 
Rokita amendment (#2) to H.R. 2017, ``Making appropriations for the 
Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending September 
30, 2012, and for other purposes.'' This amendment only hinders future 
progress in decreasing TSA's current attrition rates.
  As you may already know, this February, John Pistole, TSA's 
Administrator, who has performed 20 years of distinguished service with 
the FBI, came to the conclusion that allowing the transportation 
security workforce to collectively bargain would not result in 
lessening in the quality of security operations.

[[Page E1034]]

  As the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Transportation, I am 
keenly aware that over the years, the Committee on Homeland Security 
has conducted thorough and extensive oversight into the cause for 
attrition within the TSA workforce. The attrition rate at TSA was high 
enough that it caught the attention of our committee.
  Consistently, TSA personnel who decided to leave the agency 
criticized the availability of security training and responsiveness of 
line supervisors to workplace concerns. We must protect the tens of 
millions of dollars that American taxpayers have invested in hiring, 
training, and deploying TSA staff.
  I strongly believe that Administrator Pistole's decision was the 
right one and his decision must be supported. TSA can be strengthened 
by providing their workers with a personnel system that is fair, 
credible and transparent, and with a voice in the development of 
workplace quality standards that will make the traveling public even 
safer.
  There are currently a number of examples, throughout the federal 
government, where the conferring of collective bargaining rights have 
helped to secure the Nation. From the Customs and Border Protection to 
the Federal Protective Service, we see that collective bargaining 
rights can be made available in furtherance of security.
  TSA employees have already begun to assert their right to collective 
bargaining. This amendment comes at the worst time, when TSOs are 
currently voting on selecting union representation. With our Nation and 
our transportation, in particular, facing serious and credible 
terrorist threats, this is not the time to punish our frontline 
homeland security personnel. We must give them the tools and resources 
to effectively perform their duties.
  The Pistole decision cleared the way for an election and, in April, 
the Federal Labor Relations Authority tallied the votes. While neither 
of the competing unions won the vote outright, the message that the 
40,000 Transportation Security Officers sent was unequivocal--they want 
to be unionized. There is a run-off underway.
  This amendment would recklessly bring all the progress to a halt and 
unnecessarily damage morale within the TSA when the nation is at a 
state of ``heightened alert.''

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