Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – After an internal investigation revealed that undercover investigators were able to smuggle mock explosives or banned weapons through security checkpoints in 95 percent of covert tests at dozens of our nation’s busiest airports, an amendment by U.S. Rep. Scott Perry to strengthen airport security measures is moving forward.

A recent report by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Inspector General found that Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) airport screeners failed 67 out of 70 covert tests conducted by DHS security teams, who posed as passengers trying to beat our security systems. According to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, such covert tests are a critical part of aviation security and help test and enhance TSA’s ability to confront evolving security threats.

Rep. Perry’s amendment: requires the TSA Administrator to conduct covert testing on an ongoing basis for the next 5 years and identify corrective actions to mitigate vulnerabilities; requires the DHS Inspector General to review TSA’s covert test results and monitor the extent to which TSA is taking corrective action; ensures that TSA conducts covert tests based on our best intel, selects airports based on risk, and identifies reasons for test failure; and strengthens Congressional oversight.

“TSA has spent billions of dollars on screening equipment and training to stop attempted terrorist attacks on our Nation’s aviation system,” said Rep. Perry. “This amendment ensures TSA identifies weaknesses in its screening processes and addresses those weaknesses before they are exploited by those who want to harm our citizens.”

Rep. Perry’s amendment was adopted by the House Homeland Security Committee last week as part of passage of 15 bi-partisan reform bills focused on reining in government bureaucracy and making DHS more efficient. A summary of these bills can be found here: http://1.usa.gov/1GaDabJ.

Two additional amendments by Rep. Perry that were adopted by the Committee emphasized this reform theme. The first requires DHS’ chief financial officer to provide more stringent oversight of conference spending and make these findings open to the public. DHS spent more than $20 million on conferences from October 2013 through December 2014, despite homeland threats and budget restraints.

The second amendment ensures that all major DHS acquisition programs are subject to rigorous testing and evaluation before being deployed to the field. This year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that DHS deployed several programs without operational testing. This amendment will make sure that these significant investments will actually deliver the capabilities that operators in the field need.

Committee passage of these amendments continue Rep. Perry’s commitment to making our homeland safer and ensuring that DHS is a better steward of hard-working taxpayer dollars.  An amendment sponsored by Rep. Perry last year to reinforce the protection and security of chemical facilities from terrorist attacks was signed into law.