TSA Says House Subcommittee Has No Jurisdiction; John Pistole Refuses To Attend Hearings
The news has been filled with horror stories about abusive, degrading pat-downs by the TSA (Transportation Security Administration). The supposed violations of the Constitution that Americans must suffer in order to fly have infuriated many travelers. Now, after a contentious national election, the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Aviation is holding hearings on how to improve the security at airports and the TSA is refusing to attend, claiming the House committee has no jurisdiction over the agency.
John Pistole, the embattled Administrator of the TSA, has openly declined an invitation to attend the hearings. Lawmakers have been demanding Pistole’s scalp for years over his steadfast refusal to relax the invasive searches that many feel violate the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. The agency made a pointed post on their website about the hearings.
“By U.S. House of Representatives rules which state that the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has no jurisdiction over the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), no representative from TSA will be present at the Subcommittee on Aviation hearing scheduled for Nov. 29.”
“TSA will continue to work with its committees of jurisdiction to pursue effective and efficient security solutions. In the 112th Congress alone, TSA witnesses have testified at 38 hearings and provided 425 briefings for Members of Congress.”
“TSA also continues to work to enhance security screening measures and to improve the passenger experience including through the expansion of TSA Pre?™. As part of its risk-based security initiatives, TSA has modified screening procedures for passengers 12 and under and 75 and older while pursuing a multi-layered approach to security that includes behavior detection officers, explosives-detection systems and federal air marshals, among other measures both seen and unseen.”
This blowup between the TSA and the House illustrates some very interesting issues about how our government functions. The Cabinet level agencies defend their turf like pit bulls and Congress has enough sub-committees to fill the Yellow Pages. The Federal Government has grown so large that it has become unmanageable and as a result, the rights of average citizens are suffering.
How do you feel about the TSA and their airport security procedures? Is the TSA violating our basic freedoms or simply doing a necessary job to protect Americans from terrorists How many of your rights are you willing to surrender to remain safe?
