Government

Congressman Behind TSA Creation Now Calls ‘Whole Thing a Complete Fiasco’

The Transportation Security Administration has mushroomed into a $9 billion, 62,000 person federal bureaucracy, and the politician who helped create the security behemoth gives its performance so far a “D-.”Congressman Behind TSA Creation Calls Whole Thing a Complete Fiasco

Rep. John Mica (R. -Fla.) authored the legislation that gave us the TSA ten years ago in response to the 9/11 attacks. He  gave Townhall.com an interview last week that left no doubt about his deep disappointment in the engorged bureaucracy and waste caused by his brainchild over the last decade.

Rep. Mica wants the agency as it stands now dismantled. He said the agency should consist of no more than 5,000 personnel, and they should focus on intelligence and monitoring threats. Like many of his fellow citizens, the congressman seems deeply bothered by the endless pat-downs, nail clipper confiscations, and shoe removal efforts.

But what does he think is the biggest problem with what the TSA is doing?

Congressman Mica doesn’t believe these efforts have made us safe, and as he put it, “They’ve failed to actually detect any threat in 10 years.”

Mica was critical not just of the TSA’s record but of its tactics as well. Referring to some of the more well-known episodes in the organization’s history, he lamented that:

Congressman Behind TSA Creation Calls Whole Thing a Complete Fiasco“Everything they have done has been reactive.  They take shoes off because of [shoe-bomber] Richard Reid, passengers are patted down because of the diaper bomber, and you can’t pack liquids because the British uncovered a plot using liquids…It’s an agency that is always one step out of step.”

The scandals surrounding the TSA have been consistent and widespread over the past 10 years. There have been highly questionable expenses, including one TSA executive who collected $5.4 million salary for 9 months of work.

Even more well-known are the public groping programs known as “enhanced screenings” and allegations of theft (at least some of which have turned out to be true).

Congressman Mica wants the TSA to be privatized, and a report from his committee this past June claimed privatization would save 40% for the taxpayer.

“The whole thing is a complete fiasco,” he concluded.

(h/t townhall.com)

Comments (129)

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  • LMW
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:32pm

    I do not condem the idea, A good idea gone wrong is the word here. Our screening process needed to be updated and people who knew what the hell they were doing should have been hired. Baggage handlers and such was not the best hires For TSA employees. I have been flying over seas for many years and we are the joke of the world. Anybody with 1/2 a brain could beat these idiots any day of the week if desired. They should never never be unionized. There are too many ways to check with out removing clothing and body searches. It is nothing more then our governments way to gain more control over the the American people. TSA is a sham and needs to be elemanated.

    Report Post »  
    • Tear Em Up
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 9:33pm

      I didn’t read the whole article. Is the TSA a fiasco? Or, is it this administration??

      http://traffic.libsyn.com/mikeleeandterrymartin/Number_80_September_10th_2011.mp3

      Report Post » Tear Em Up  
    • banjarmon
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 10:06pm

      WOW a congressman sees the LIGHT!!!

      Report Post » banjarmon  
    • BigDaddyRamFrog
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 10:53pm

      TSA has stopped zero threat! The Israelis have no problems and they don’t x-ray or pat down (molest) their passengers. Massive changes are needed.

      Report Post »  
    • dominke
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 10:58pm

      Our whole administration is a sham job. Of the 300 million people in USA,how many actually fly. The whole country pays for the ones able to fly. Each airport should be in charge of any security without taxpayer dollars.

      Report Post » dominke  
    • FormerLib
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 1:42am

      Well, I just got back from flying to my nephew’s wedding, and I am LIVID. I witnessed an octogenarian woman in a wheelchair forced to stand up and hold her hands above her head (she could barely do it) while she was x-rayed. I watched a TSA employee make a mother with three small children in tow pour out bottles of juice and water, even after the kids drank as much as they could before pouring it out. I watched citizens barked at and herded like cattle. And after removing my shoes, my belt, my wallet, watch, keys, glasses, and anything else I had on me, my own bag was flagged and pulled aside for further search. Why? because I had a can of shaving cream, which even though I demonstrated it was in fact shaving cream, I had to surrender. And the more of this I witnessed, the more furious I became. My own wife was urging me to show caution and lot make waves or draw attention to myself in order to avoid being singled out. IN THE US of A! It was reminiscent of a scene from Schindler’s List. And I realizede I’m angry because the terrorists have won, if this is what we’ve come to. Does anyone in their right mind really think that 80-something woman in the wheelchair was a threat? Or those bottles of juice those kids were drinking? All this, simply because our government won’t admit, let alone address, the real threat- Islamic males between the ages of 18 and 40. And we endure loss of liberty and harrassment on an unprecedented scale and we bow in dhimmitude to Islam.

      Report Post »  
    • drattastic
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 1:54am

      Just another perfect example of the government screwing up everything they touch. 62,000 people and 9 billion dollars ,give me a damn break ! How many layers of management is that ? Probably 10% molesting the public and the rest is pure bureaucracy ,an a$$ load of parasites that have attached themselves to our wallets.

      Report Post » drattastic  
    • jb.kibs
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 2:18am

      what about this?
      i saw a tsa employee at a gas station one day, i gave him a dirty look. but… lets say…

      you are an attendant of a gas station, make them strip before you turn on the pump… they might have a lighter or something, if they do, call the cops and have them arrested for terrorism…

      and yes, the employees DO have a F-ing choice. if your boss told you to execute other employees, you are going to do it and think it’s legal for you to? you are high on crack if that’s the case. the TSA employees are in the wrong as much as their executives. ignorance is not an excuse. it’s your job to be observant as a security official…

      Report Post »  
    • NOTALOTTAYITTAYADDA
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 8:29am

      All this crap over fake planes and a bunch of lies.!.

      This WAS a great country, the zionist have driven it directly into the ground.

      Report Post »  
    • Shotgun167
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 12:30pm

      Formerlib, it is worse than that. Last flight I was on went through Houghston, TX. I know most people don’t listen to the PA announcements, but I did that once. They were plainly stating that you would be detained if you made “rude” comments to the screeners. I guess they were tired of me telling them that if they fondled my junk, I would have to charge them just like all my other clients.

      When the government starts controlling our speech, we’ve lost.

      Report Post »  
    • eddymunster
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 1:07pm

      the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

      Report Post »  
    • MONICNE
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 2:06pm

      The TSA and the Department of Homeland Security need to be phased out.

      9/11 brought us together for the first time in years, and then the neoconservatives started spending all our money and making us afraid, and they created new federal departments like TSA to feed the fear. Neocons increased federal employment 33% and increased the Military 20% before 2007.

      They cut back on basic revenues for 7 years. Now they say we are broke, that’s the latest scary thing.

      TEA

      TEA

      Report Post » MONICNE  
    • MONICNE
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 2:08pm

      By the way, very attractive LOGO on their embroidered seal. Kind of retro looking. Bold, fresh, eh?

      TEA

      Report Post » MONICNE  
    • Ruler4You
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 2:40pm

      A “fiasco?”There, you see? that didn’t take long now did it?

      Only a few measly hundred billion dollars and a new bloated unstoppable government bureaucratic ‘enforcement’ agency that will continue to be a disastrous burden for the rest of eternity. It couldn’t have worked out better for the government if they had planned it that way.

      Report Post » Ruler4You  
    • Brainmuffin
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 3:04pm

      Replace the lot with t-ray machines. No need for all the tech that doesn’t work.

      Report Post »  
  • fcbs46
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:31pm

    Please privatize the TSA.

    My nephew (a bomb tech from the Army and many years in the private disposal field) joined the TSA (to be close to his daughter) and told them repeatedly that they were letting through many risks. The highest risks come from the ground personal and they were not listening to an expert in the field that was hired just for this purpose. He had to leave one city because he would not be a part of a gross failure.

    Told and told again about failures and the head of the unit would not take action. This simply would not happen in a private organization that was held responsible for such failure.

    Report Post »  
    • southernloyalty
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 9:34pm

      The only thing bad about privatizing it is that all the jobs would go to illegal immigrants. Come on, you know all business people hire nothing but mexicans cause they’re too cheap to pay Americans. Then, the mexicans would unionize, and like every other private business in America thats unionized, they’d ship all the airport security jobs to China. Then there would be a couple thousand illegal mexicans to add to the unemployment line behind the 62,000 TSA workers you replaced with the mexicans. Either way you go, you can’t win. This place just needs to go ahead and collapse.

      Report Post »  
    • artistskeptic
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 11:39pm

      @southertnloyalty..Isn’t the entire problem caused by the labor unions which insist on massive pay for minimum work??

      Report Post »  
    • TomFerrari
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 9:32am

      Isn’t TSA already union?
      I remember they voted in favor of it recently.

      Report Post » TomFerrari  
  • CarolinaGirl
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:29pm

    Profile! Profile! Profile! Period!

    Report Post » CarolinaGirl  
  • progressiveslayer
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:27pm

    The government created the tsa and once a government department is started it never dies it just gets bigger,we’re stuck with this anti- constitutional beast forever.

    Report Post » progressiveslayer  
    • ProbIemSoIver
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:40pm

      RON PAUL would immediately eliminate this worthless entity. These people would get no benefits, and would have to get in line to find a job again. It suits them, considering most are uneducated thugs, overpaid, and over “entitled”.

      Report Post » ProbIemSoIver  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:40pm

      Not only is it a Gov agency it’s aslo now a Union. How do you break that combo?

      Report Post » The-Monk  
    • therealconservative
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:57pm

      Ron Paul would allow Iran to have a nuke, illeagal’s to have citizenship, gut our military, free pot to all and anything else the liberal want.

      Report Post » therealconservative  
    • zman173rd
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 11:35pm

      What the Goverment hath created only the Government can take away. Hold on…?

      Report Post » zman173rd  
    • libertytreecaretaker
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 11:45pm

      Ron Paul is half conservative and half nut job! I think the nut job parts going to keep him a thousand feet from the White House!

      Report Post »  
    • jb.kibs
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 2:20am

      you think anyone is going to stop iran from getting a nuke? how stupid are you? you can’t deinvent the nuke..

      Report Post »  
    • jb.kibs
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 2:22am

      the KKK, Black Panthers and other racist groups have called for the extermination of others… you going to arrest them all for murder?
      that is exactly the situation of Iran… free speech when it suits your needs, eh? wink wink nudge nudge

      Report Post »  
  • henryKnox
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:22pm

    Yes, we must use the next republican majority after 2012 to privatize the TSA and right many other wrongs that have perpetuated over the last 60 years or so. Eliminate the dept of edu, dept of energy and about 100 other useless depts in DC.

    Report Post » henryKnox  
    • chazman
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:28pm

      Hey Monk! Ya pull a Ronald Reagan on ‘em!!!

      Report Post »  
    • 100 Million Patriots Standing
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 6:36am

      Including tossing the UN out…. …
      and eliminating the lobby industry – including making it illegal for the interference, bribery and manipulation of congress and any elected official – by groups such as CRF-Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderberg, Aspen Institute, Tri-Lateral Commission, Club of Rome, Committee of 300, Unions, Media, and…….anyone….including both sides of the isle.

      Report Post » 100 Million Patriots Standing  
  • BowHuntingTexas
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:20pm

    Rep. Mica, please re-read and memorize the 4th Amendment. You know? The one about unreasonable search and seizure.

    Report Post » BowHuntingTexas  
  • copatriots
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:20pm

    I can hardly wait for the gubbermint to be in charge of healthcare. I’m sure that will go off swimmingly.

    Report Post »  
    • spirited
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:49pm

      Yes,

      ;$^>swimmingly

      Report Post » spirited  
    • Aloneonahill
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:23pm

      It will be difficult to swim in the tsunami of government run healthcare. Can only hope SCOTUS will wash our hands of it.

      Report Post »  
  • biohazard23
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:17pm

    Let the airlines pay for privatized security. If people don‘t like Airline A’s security checks, then they will give their business to Airline B. Let the market sort it out and keep the govt out of it altogether.

    Report Post » biohazard23  
    • Mtroom
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 4:05am

      No matter how you look at it…it’s still the tax payer paying it….you think the airlines are just gonna foot the bill for security?.Doubt it,they will just charge more.Which in turn eliminates smaller companies and would limit choice Plus it would probably lead to more bail outs.I feel it’s better off to fix the TSA…This guy made it happen….Fix it….Again, no responsibility …Just passing the problem off…And we pay for it no matter what….Try this at your job…Bet ya don’t have it very long..This guys just as bad as the rest of them

      Report Post » Mtroom  
  • NEAF
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:15pm

    Really? btw, is cheaper and effective with sniffing dogs.

    Report Post » NEAF  
  • wood911
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:14pm

    My protest has been to stop flying. Complaining loud and long will probably eventually get TSA backed off but you cut the money strings and only fly in an extreme emergency and the airlines will get tit shut down in a hurry. You have to hit them where it hurts. BTW, they need to privatize air traffic while they are doing it.

    Report Post »  
    • jnobfan
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:23pm

      I have cut back myself. Whats weird (or is it) that last weekend we flew to DCA from PBI for a football game and I was pulled out of line both ways for scanner and patdown. Both airports were extremely vacant of passengers so maybe they were bored. More likely all Miami Hurricane fans like me are on some kind of list.

      Report Post »  
    • NeoFan
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 11:58pm

      I have only taken one trip since the Nazi’s took power and it was enough to slam the door on air travel for me.
      I am hoping for the demise of the airlines because the never even put up a fight. Union members all.

      Report Post »  
  • Banter
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:14pm

    Fine Mica, so you now realize that no govt program goes away, they morph into money sucking monsters and destroyers of liberty.

    So quit whining and just fix it.

    Report Post » Banter  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:13pm

    Get rid of the whole thing and start over with private security forces backed up by professional law enforcement at the airports. The TSA is nothing more than a band of mercenary thugs and thieves who have too much authority across the board.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
  • PATTY HENRY
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:12pm

    I hope all Tea Party people are thinking LOCALLY too…these RINOS need to be replaced with PATRIOTS. 75% of us have had enough. THANKS for GLENN BECK and SARAH PALIN and a very few others…we have this ONE election to save the USA. IF you think it will keep rollin’ on without
    Patriots…but RINOS and LIBERALS you are nuts. We all have to think LOCALLY…and contribute and fight nationally. GOD BLESS THE USA.

    Report Post » PATTY HENRY  
  • DProffitt
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:12pm

    Not bad only took him 10 years to admit it was a mistake…apparenlty he was groped on his last fight.

    Report Post » DProffitt  
  • Jenny Lind
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:08pm

    Really? This is called day late, dollar short. Unintended consequences, get’s us every time. Would that those powers that be would think before they screw everthing up. I can only shake my head in awe of the stupidity.

    Report Post »  
  • Tusker
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:05pm

    Get rid of it all together! What a waste of money! Not to mention the humiliation the fliers have to go throught to board a freak’n plane!

    Report Post » Tusker  
    • HKS
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:14pm

      Total overkill, screening is a necessary thing in these times but this is ridicules. Metal detectors and scanners are enough.

      Report Post » HKS  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 6:57pm

    I guess Rep. John Mica finally got on a regular flight at a regular airport and got the new “regular TSA treatment”.

    Report Post » The-Monk  
    • Dug2Dark
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:05pm

      Hey that’s not funny, I’ve just flown & my butt stiill hurts from the search….

      Report Post » Dug2Dark  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:45pm

      @Dug2Dark
      I guess they took a pica up Mica also. Ouch!

      Report Post » The-Monk  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:47pm

      @Dug2Dark
      I hear that will make you “regular” for a week ar two.

      Report Post » The-Monk  
  • momprayn
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 6:50pm

    Who is this guy? A RINO? What in the world — even us peon Consvs. know better. It ALWAYS, ALWAYS ends up like that. His constiuents giving him a hard time lately? This should be another outrageous agency that the Tea Party/Consvs. should complain about very loudly. The best way is the Israeli way. Note their success. Yes, I know – can’t do that — that’s not “PC”. Brilliant.

    Report Post »  
    • Rowgue
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:01pm

      Republican does not equal conservative. The biggest reason we are in the mess we‘re in is because people associate an ideology with one party or the other and then blindly vote for that party’s candidates.

      If they weren‘t allowed to list party affiliation on a ballot we would avoid all of that and people simply wouldn’t vote because they’re too clueles without the D or R telling them who the right candidate is, or we would have ended up with far more qualified candidates just out of pure chance from idiots voting randomly instead of for a letter.

      Report Post »  
  • Libby Tarian
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 6:50pm

    We need Four years of Ron Paul, he would have to fight Repubs and Dems his whole term. But, It would be like a cool Aloe Vera compress on a raging sunburn. Stop the madness for four years and then the regulators could vote in someone else.

    Report Post » Libby Tarian  
    • Aloneonahill
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:30pm

      Would much rather see RP as Sec Of Treasury to pursue elimination of the fed. As of now he is only taking votes away from the demise of the progs. If he can’t win he will only be detrimental to the greater cause of eliminating the socialist agenda.

      Report Post »  
    • therealconservative
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 9:04pm

      Yes, we need 4 more yrs of illeagal’s streaming over ther boarder, sucking up to Iran, giving pot to everyone, a hollowed out military. Let’s vote for Paul.

      Report Post » therealconservative  
    • Highland
      Posted on September 13, 2011 at 8:18am

      Ron Paul doesn’t see Muslim extremists as a threat. Yeah, I guess he’d dismantle TSA – and all other forms of security. TSA needs to go, but let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater.

      Report Post » Highland  
  • South Philly Boy
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 6:48pm

    Time to CUT it DOWN to small SIZE

    Report Post » South Philly Boy  
  • RedinLouisville
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 6:45pm

    He should be the first one fired.

    Report Post » RedinLouisville  
    • Elena2010
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 6:54pm

      Woo-hoo! Go Cards!

      Sorry — got off topic when I saw your moniker and avatar. A&S ‘79.

      Back on topic: TSA is a sorry excuse for its name.

      Report Post » Elena2010  
    • Rowgue
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 6:54pm

      He doesn‘t work for the TSA he’s a house representative. If people want him fired they can easily do so.

      Report Post »  
  • Dug2Dark
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 6:41pm

    The Tsa is privatized. They fondle my privates every time I try to board a plane.

    Report Post » Dug2Dark  
  • joan k
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 6:40pm

    What did he expect when the government gets involved? Another bureaocracy and people that work for it making themselves look like they are doing something even when it isn’t something important. That describes a government job for you.

    Report Post » joan k  
  • This_Individual
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 6:35pm

    I’ll drink to that!

    Report Post »  
  • Chuck Stein
    Posted on September 12, 2011 at 6:34pm

    TSA privatization — sounds like a good plank to a Republican platform.

    Report Post »  
    • Quagmir
      Posted on September 12, 2011 at 6:41pm

      I think he just had to fly commercial a few times and it woke him up.

      Report Post » Quagmir  
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