Congress to TSA: Crewmember Screening Proposal Details, in Writing, by July 1

June 20, 2008 - On its quest to make CrewPASS a reality for line pilots, ALPA successfully lobbied this week for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security to ask the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for an outline of the specifics of the crewmember-screening-proposal evaluations under consideration. TSA, which said it would initiate a pilot program in early June, continues to drag the process out.

The delay concerns Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, who says in his letter of request that this Administration has less than six months to institute any new policies or programs. Given the situation at hand, Rep. Thompson set a July 1, 2008 deadline by which the TSA must respond in writing to 12 detailed questions regarding the evaluation of several crewmember-screening proposals.

His questions demand specific information on any proposals under consideration, including more about the pilot program—the names of the test airports, why the agency chose them, and the science behind what existing databases and technologies TSA intends to assess. He also pressed the TSA to name any key stakeholders—like ALPA—that will be instrumental in the program design, along with what sort of budget it will take to complete the project.

ALPA will keep you updated on any further developments. To read the letter of request, please click here.