U.S. Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and John Katko (R-NY) reintroduced bipartisan legislation Friday that would prevent Congress from raiding passenger security fees for other purposes.
The Funding for Aviation Screeners and Threat Elimination Restoration (FASTER) Act would stop Congress from diverting about a third of the revenue collected from airline passenger security fees, estimated to be around $1.36 billion, to pay for unrelated government spending.
According to the lawmakers, Congress began diverting the fund to pay for other spending in 2013. More than $19 billion will be diverted from aviation security by 2027 unless the current law is changed. The proposed legislation would ensure that money from those fees goes solely to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for aviation security.
“As the COVID-19 recovery continues and Americans return to traveling, it’s imperative that TSA has the necessary resources to ensure our aviation security,” DeFazio, Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said. “The FASTER Act will finally end this budget gimmick and provide TSA the full funding that it needs and that Congress intended it to get—funding that is already paid by travelers —to invest in state-of-the-art equipment and hire additional staff in order to make air travel not only safer but more efficient.”
The legislation would also allow the TSA Administrator to access September 11 Security Fee revenue during government shutdowns, providing TSA with the ability to provide financial stability to Transportation Security Officers (TSO) in the event of appropriations lapses.
“It defies logic that such a significant portion of the security fees passengers pay in their airline tickets are not going towards aviation security and the functions of the Transportation Security Administration,” Thompson, Chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said. “As TSA gears up for the return of the traveling public as we begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, TSA must have every resource at its disposal to ensure our skies are secure. The FASTER Act will allow TSA to retain all the fees it collects so it can properly staff airports, invest in new technology, and efficiently and effectively secure our aviation sector.”
The legislation is endorsed by Airlines for America, Air Line Pilots Association, Airports Council International-North America, American Federation of Government Employees, American Society of Travel Advisors, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, Global Business Travel Association, and U.S. Travel Association.