The TSA made itself unfundable
The TSA has become a recurring political flashpoint due to its funding structure and reliance on post-9/11 security measures that have not proven effective. Despite costing $11 billion annually, the agency's screening enhancements have shown minimal real-world impact, with high failure rates in tests and no security breaches during recent lapses in screening. Structural reform and a reassessment of current protocols are needed to ensure both effective security and stable funding.
- ▪The TSA costs $11 billion annually, more than the entire Coast Guard budget.
- ▪During two government shutdowns, reduced TSA screening did not result in any security breaches.
- ▪A 2015 DHS test found TSA screeners failed to detect prohibited items 95% of the time.
- ▪Cockpit doors have been hardened and passengers are now more likely to resist hijackers, reducing the risk of 9/11-style attacks.
- ▪TSA PreCheck allows 20 million travelers to bypass many post-9/11 screening requirements, indicating their perceived non-essential nature.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Opinion The TSA made itself unfundable By Andrew Miller Published May 5, 2026, 12:48 p.m. ET Getty Images Last Thursday, Congress ended the longest Department of Homeland Security shutdown in American history. For 75 days, tens of thousands of TSA officers worked unpaid. More than 1,100 of them quit. Airport security lines stretched for hours. The immediate fight is over. The next one is already on the calendar: this appropriation expires Sept. 30. And the battle will keep going, every funding cycle, until we change what we’re funding. The standoff that produced this shutdown was a fight over Immigration and Customs Enforcement, not airport security. But since ICE and DHS sit inside TSA, airport security became collateral damage in a dispute that had nothing to do with it.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at New York Post.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from New York Post
