The man President Obama tapped to head the TSA said travelers may have to face more “inefficiencies” in the short term as the agency has to deal with a 96 percent failure rate in tests of whether screeners could spot weapons and explosives.
Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger, whom Mr. Obama has nominated to lead the troubled Transportation Security Administration, said he was troubled by the findings of the Homeland Security inspector general, who according to preliminary reports found that screeners missed 67 of the 70 weapons or simulated explosives auditors tried to sneak past them.
The admiral said the TSA’s primary mission is security, though it must take into account the need to get passengers through airports quickly. But dealing with the problems exposed by the inspector general could tip the balance back toward stiffer security, he said.
“There may be a need to introduce some inefficiencies to address the recent findings of the inspector general,” he said.
Admiral Neffenger won praise from both sides of the aisle for his leadership skills, but was prodded over whether he grasps the challenges at the TSA, which is reeling from multiple investigations that have found the agency doesn’t do a good enough job of vetting airport workers, doesn’t spot contraband and relies on unproven programs such as behavior detection.
He hinted that a large part of the problem in the recent report on screener failure was “equipment,” rather than personnel.
But he wouldn’t give a straight answer to Sen. Ben Sasse, Nebraska Republican, who said the classified reports and briefings he’s seen suggest the TSA is badly failing and questioned whether Admiral Neffenger believes a major turnaround is needed.
“How can we have these kinds of security lapses 14 years after 9/11?” Mr. Sasse said.
“That is the question, senator,” Admiral Neffenger said. “They’re not where they need to be.”
A day earlier, Inspector General John Roth, whose investigators have exposed a number of problems within the TSA, questioned whether the leadership at the agency understood the magnitude of the problems.
Admiral Neffenger said he believes some people do grasp the problems and others do not.
Mr. Neffenger promised to come back to Congress both with a grade for how well TSA is doing, and with a list of changes he wants Capitol Hill to pass to help improve airport security.
And he vowed to revisit the precheck programs that speed some passengers’ access to the secure areas of airports, saying that he supports the idea in concept but wants to make sure only the right people are being granted that benefit.
Throughout his testimony he walked a tight line between trying to be supportive of existing TSA employees while signaling that changes are needed.
He acknowledged that morale among TSA employees is a problem, and said the agency could help that by being clearer on its mission.
The admiral’s nomination has already cleared a vote in the Senate Commerce Committee and is likely to be approved by the Homeland Security Committee, which would then send his nomination to the full Senate for action.
In the wake of last week’s reports on the screening failures, Mr. Obama tried to blame Congress for slow-walking the nominee.
But Republicans countered that the position became vacant last year but Mr. Obama didn’t even nominate Admiral Neffenger until April, and senators said they have moved quickly since then to get him through the process.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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