House Passes Rep. Kirkpatrick Amendment to Help Ensure Privacy for Air Travelers in TSA Authorization Act

Press Release

House Passes Rep. Kirkpatrick Amendment to Help Ensure Privacy for Air Travelers in TSA Authorization Act

The House of Representatives today passed the Transportation Security Administration Authorization Act, which includes an amendment introduced by Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick to ensure that we protect the privacy of our air travelers. Because of her efforts, the bill requires that the TSA report to Congress on the steps they are taking to ensure our personal privacy before they deploy Whole Body Imaging (WBI) technology across the country.

WBI, which is currently being tested in a pilot program at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix and 18 other major airports, allows screeners to clearly view items that passengers may be concealing anywhere on their bodies as they go through security. The safety benefits of this technology are clear, but it has raised questions about the implications of creating detailed images of people's bodies underneath their clothes.

"The TSA is making a genuine effort to protect our privacy, but this program is still in development and even they do not know what form the final product will take," said Rep. Kirkpatrick. "This technology will be a valuable tool for keeping air travel and our country safe, and we should take the necessary steps to ensure folks that it will not be abused."

In response to concerns from Members on both sides of the aisle, the Congresswoman drafted language that compels the TSA make sure Congress is fully informed of the privacy protections being instituted by the agency before they roll out a full-scale WBI program. Her amendment was accepted by the Homeland Security Committee and added to the bill.

"This is a common sense amendment which will give both the TSA and Congress the opportunity to reflect on the program before we implement something that could violate our privacy," said Rep. Kirkpatrick. "It will make sure we address the concerns of air passengers who will suddenly find these machines in their airports here in Arizona and throughout America."

Sky Harbor serves as the primary airport for many of the Congresswoman's constituents, and as Arizona's only representative on the Committee on Homeland Security she has closely followed the WBI program at Sky Harbor and around the country. Rep. Kirkpatrick also voted for an amendment on the floor introduced by Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) that put certain limitations on the WBI program, which passed.

The bill passed the House with a nonpartisan 397-25 vote. If the bill passes the Senate and becomes law, it would mark the first time that the TSA would be authorized by Congress since it was created in 2001, giving us the opportunity to help better protect the safety of our transportation networks.

Source