Following criticism of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from some stakeholders in the aviation community over the agency’s pending change to its list of items allowed to be carried onboard passenger planes, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) has introduced a bill that authorizes a stakeholder outreach panel for TSA.
Some in Congress along with groups representing business travelers, air carriers, flight attendants and others have criticized TSA Administrator John Pistole’s decision earlier this month to modify the prohibited items list to allow small pocket knives and some other sharp instruments onboard passenger flights. Pistole said last week that these items can’t be used by terrorists to bring down a flight and that the agency’s time and resources are better spent focusing on preventing bombs from being brought aboard aircraft (Defense Daily, March 15).
Thompson, who is the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee, said the Aviation Security Stakeholder Participation Act of 2013 (H.R. 1204) would authorize the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC) into law and require TSA to consult with its members on aviation security related matters.
The ASAC has existed since 1989 but had been inactive for years until Pistole renewed its charter in 2011. However, Pistole said last week that he did not conduct any extensive stakeholder outreach before deciding to modify the prohibited items list.
“This recent lapse in policy making shows that we need a proper dialogue on creating security policy more than ever,” Thompson said in a statement.