Transportation Security Administration

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Transportation Security Administration
Transportation Security Administration logo.svg
Wordmark of the TSA
Flag of the Transportation Security Administration.png
Flag of the Transportation Security Administration
Agency overview
Formed November 19, 2001; 17 years ago
Preceding agency
Federal Aviation Administration � Office of Civil Aviation Security
Jurisdiction Transportation systems inside, and connecting to the United
States of America
Headquarters Pentagon City, Arlington County, Virginia
Employees 51,000 [1] (2019)
Annual budget $7.58 billion (2018)
Agency executives
David Pekoske, Administrator
Patricia F.S. Cogswell, Deputy Administrator
Parent agency Department of Homeland Security
Website TSA.gov
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security that has authority over the security of the
traveling public in the United States. It was created as a response to the
September 11 attacks.

Chiefly concerned with air travel, the TSA employs screening officers in airports,
armed Federal Air Marshals on planes, and mobile teams of dog handlers and
explosives specialists.

Contents
1 History and mission
2 Administration and organization
2.1 Leadership
2.2 Organizational structure
2.3 New headquarters
3 Operations
3.1 Finances
3.2 Airport screening
3.3 Employees
3.4 Uniforms
3.5 Incidents
3.5.1 2013 Los Angeles airport shooting
3.5.2 2015 New Orleans airport attack
4 Screening processes and regulations
4.1 Passenger and carry-on screening
4.1.1 Identification requirements
4.1.1.1 REAL ID requirements
4.1.1.1.1 Enforcement dates
4.1.1.1.2 Current list of acceptable IDs
4.1.2 Large printer cartridges ban
4.1.3 November 2010 enhanced screening procedures
4.1.3.1 Pat-downs
4.1.3.2 Full body scanners
4.1.3.3 Reverse screenings
4.1.3.4 Reactions
4.1.4 March 2017 electronic device restrictions
4.2 Checked baggage
5 Criticism and controversy
5.1 Effectiveness of screening procedures
5.1.1 Unintended consequences of screening enhancements
5.2 Baggage theft
5.3 Data security incidents
5.3.1 Employee records lost or stolen
5.3.2 Unsecured website
5.4 Other criticisms
5.5 Public opinion
5.6 Investigations of the TSA
5.7 Calls for abolition
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
History and mission

TSA's seal when the agency was part of the Department of Transportation.
The TSA was created largely in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001, which revealed weaknesses in existing airport security procedures.[2] At the
time, a myriad of private security companies managed air travel security under
contract to individual airlines or groups of airlines that used a given airport or
terminal facility.[3] Proponents of placing the government in charge of airport
security, including Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, argued that only a
single federal agency could best protect passenger aviation.

Congress agreed, and authorized the creation of the TSA in the Aviation and
Transportation Security Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush
on November 19, 2001. Bush nominated John Magaw on December 10, and he was
confirmed by the Senate the following January. The agency was initially placed
under the United States Department of Transportation, but was moved to the
Department of Homeland Security when that department was formed on March 9, 2003.

The new agency's effort to hire screeners to begin operating security checkpoints
at airports represents a case of a large-scale staffing project completed over a
short period. The only effort in U.S. history that came close to it was the testing
of recruits for the armed forces in World War II. During the period from February
to December 2002, 1.7 million applicants were assessed for 55,000 screening jobs.
[4]

The TSA develops broad policies to protect the U.S. transportation system,
including highways, railroads, buses, mass transit systems, ports, and pipelines.
It fulfills this mission in conjunction with other federal agencies and state
partners. However, the TSA's primary focus is on airport security and the
prevention of aircraft hijacking. It is responsible for screening passengers and
baggage at more than 450 U.S. airports.[5]

Administration and organization

TSA headquarters located in Pentagon City, Arlington County, Virginia

Leadership
When TSA was part of the Department of Transportation, the head of the agency was
referred to as the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security. Following the
move to the Department of Homeland Security, the position was reclassified as the
Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.

There have been seven administrators and six acting administrators in the TSA's 18-
year history.
Following the passage of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 which included a
provision known as the TSA Modernization Act, the Administrator's term was set as a
five year term retroactive to the start of current Administrator David Pekoske's
term. It also made the Deputy Administrator a politically appointed positio