Nelson Presses TSA Official on "User Tax" Hike

NELSON PRESSES TSA OFFICIAL ON "USER TAX" HIKE
Nebraska's Senator Concerned About Proposed Hike in Security Fee for Travelers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Airline travelers are facing steep increases in security fees under a proposal put forth by the Administration for the Transportation Security Agency (TSA), the government agency charged with airport and other transportation security measures, Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson said today.

At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the fiscal year 2006 budget for the TSA, Senators, including Nelson, asked pointed questions about the proposed per-flight increase in the security fee. Some Senators, including Nelson expressed concern about the fee increase and its impact on travelers from rural areas who often have no choice but to take connecting flights to get to their destinations. Multiple flights per trip could unfairly shift a higher cost to those travelers through the increased fees.

"TSA's plan to shift the cost of the screening and security programs to travelers through increased security fees amounts to nothing more than a user tax," said Senator Nelson, after the hearing. Nelson is a member of the Senate Commerce Committee. "Travelers from rural areas will assume an unjust share of the cost due to the fact they use connecting flights more than travelers in urban areas."

At the hearing, David M. Stone, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for the Transportation Security Administration, said this morning the proposed passenger fee increase would mean passengers would cover 73 percent of airport screening costs instead of the current 36 percent. Stone said this change shifts the burden from the taxpayer to the user. The current fees and the proposed fee increase apply only to airline travelers.

"The responsibility of securing the airways should not rest solely on airline travelers," Nelson said. "From what I heard at the hearing today there seems to be adequate concern on both sides of the aisle about this plan to shift costs to airline travelers. My major concern is that we are doing more of the same at a higher cost and not necessarily increasing security."

Nelson also said that he has concerns about TSA's lack of attention to security for ports, rail, motor carriers and other transportation modes. In early 2001, Nelson predicted that the greatest security threat we faced was not the prospect of a missile attack from a hostile government but a terrorist attack in the form of a nuclear bomb or other weapon of mass destruction brought into one of our harbors or across an unsecured border.

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