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BUSINESS

RELATING TO GOVERNMENT

INSIGHTS ON U . S . LEGISLATIVE ISSUES AND INDUSTRY TOPICS

TSA update : Leadership , funding and focus

DAVID PEKOSKE was sworn in as the seventh administrator of the U . S . Transportation Security Administration this August after appearing before both the Senate Commerce Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee . He was unanimously approved by the entire Senate .
The TSA , which was created as a response to the 9 / 11 terrorist attacks , has become a vital and prominent security component of the travel and tourism industry . During his congressional confirmation hearings , Pekoske stated that he hopes to improve the agency from top to bottom , with a focus on security innovation . Both Congress and the traveling public want to ensure that security is addressed , and the new TSA administrator appears to be keenly aware of that . During his confirmation hearings , Pekoske , who was vice commandant of the U . S . Coast Guard until 2010 , cited his experience as perfect training for the job , pointing out that both positions rely on intelligence information to get ahead of threats and to employ riskbased management .
With the TSA ’ s responsibilities for the security of the U . S . traveling public — and its annual budget of nearly $ 8 billion — come a unique set of issues with staffing ; long lines ; criticisms over security checks , pat-downs and full-body scans ; and rail security , among a multitude of
Both Congress and the traveling public want to ensure that security is addressed , and the new TSA administrator appears to be keenly aware of that .
other difficulties . A major concern for the travel and tourism industry is the long waits for TSA ’ s security procedures that customers face while trying to get to their flights on time .
Staffing problems within the agency have caused these lengthy waits at
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10 November 2017