END THE TSA!!! Congressional report slams TSA as bloated, ineffective – TSA Puts Off Safety Study of X-ray Body Scanners

In this May 20, 2010, file photo Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington

CAPTION
By Harry Hamburg, AP

The Transportation Security Administration is plagued by significant problems, a congressional report said Wednesday on the 10th anniversary of Congress creating the agency.
According to the report “A Decade Later: A Call for TSA Reform,” the problems include:

A bloated bureaucracy with 65,000 workers.
An ineffective agency with 25,000 security breaches in the last decade.
A buyer of inadequate technology, including 500 advanced-imaging technology machines that are “easily thwarted.”

“Unfortunately, TSA has lost its way,” Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said during a Wednesday news conference at Reagan National Airport near Washington.
“It is time for reform,” he added.
While Mica has become a vocal critic of the agency, others have been more supportive.

TSA Puts Off Safety Study of X-ray Body Scanners

The head of the Transportation Security Administration has backed off a public commitment to conduct a new independent study of X-ray body scanners used at airport security lanes around the country.

Earlier this month, a ProPublica/PBS NewsHour investigation found that the TSA had glossed over research [1] that the X-ray scanners could lead to a small number of cancer cases. The scanners emit low levels of ionizing radiation, which has been shown to damage DNA. In addition, several safety reviewers who initially advised the government on the scanners said they had concerns about the machines being used, as they are today, on millions of airline passengers.

A screenshot of an explainer video from the Transportation Security Administration.

At a Senate hearing after the story ran, TSA Administrator John Pistole agreed to a request by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, to conduct a new independent study [2] of the health effects of the X-ray scanners, also known as backscatters.