Tsa National Deployment Force Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6461) to amend title 49, United States Code, to establish in the Transportation Security Administration a National Deployment Office, and for other purposes.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6461, the TSA National Deployment Force Act, sponsored by my good friend and the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Protective Security, Mrs. Watson Coleman.

TSA security operations happen 365 days per year at nearly 440 federalized airports. Our Nation depends on the professionals at TSA who are on the front lines every single day to keep our transportation systems moving and secure.

In testimony before the committee, Administrator Pekoske has stated that TSA's greatest assets are its people, and I could not agree more. Transportation security officers are tasked with a zero-fail mission, and their dedication to duty is what helps keep traveling Americans secure when they fly within our civil aviation system.

With a strengthening economy, passenger volume has surged over the past few years and is expected to go much higher in the years to come, and TSA has often struggled to accommodate massive traveler volume increases at checkpoints. However, one of the most practical, useful, and helpful tools in TSA's toolbox, the National Deployment Force, helps TSA alleviate long lines at airport checkpoints, providing both a national security value by minimizing public area security risk and providing efficiency by reducing passenger wait times.

This legislation authorizes the National Deployment Force, or NDF, within TSA to provide rapid and efficient response capabilities.

The NDF is comprised of transportation security officers who may be deployed across the country to supplement existing TSA staffing during periods of high seasonal demand, natural disasters, national special security events, or other scenarios requiring additional security screening support.

Recently, the NDF has provided critical screening support for large- scale events requiring additional security, such as the Super Bowl and in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Given the anticipated increases in passenger growth, this bipartisan legislation will help ensure that TSA has the resources it needs to quickly respond to influxes in passenger volume at specific airports.

I am proud to cosponsor this bipartisan legislation with my good friend and colleague from New Jersey to authorize a National Deployment Force and help make TSA the agile agency the American people expect and deserve.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6461.

I agree with the comments of my colleague from New Jersey, and I think that this commonsense legislation will give TSA more flexibility and more elasticity in facing the ongoing challenges with staffing issues at airports, especially during peak travel times.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source