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Sen. Lautenberg: TSA failing to track airport security breaches
New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) said Monday that a report commissioned at his request shows the Transportation Security Administration has not properly responded to cases of airport security breaches.
Lautenberg said the report, which was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general, showed TSA only responded to 42 percent of the security breaches that it says were reported between January 2010 and May 2011 at Newark International Airport. Newark is the largest airport in Lautenberg's home state.
Lautenberg said in a statement released by his office Monday that the finding "identifies a gaping hole in our airport security system and gives us a framework for how to improve security at Newark Liberty Airport and all across the country."
"The recent attempt by al-Qaeda to take down a U.S.-bound airliner showed us that terrorists are still determined to exploit aviation security gaps in order to attack America," Lautenberg said.
"Newark Liberty Airport and airports around the country have made security improvements, but it is clear that much more needs to be done," he continued. "The TSA should adopt the Inspector General's recommendations without delay and I will continue working in the Senate to improve our homeland security."
Newark was last in the percentage of reported breaches that received a response of the six airports that were reviewed.
Lautenberg's office said the report showed that, overall, "TSA lacks an effective mechanism to gather information about security breaches and is therefore limited in its ability to prevent and take corrective actions against security breaches in the future.
"The investigation recommends that the TSA better define what constitutes a security breach and develop a comprehensive oversight program to ensure breaches are accurately reported and that the agency takes action to correct vulnerabilities," Lautenberg's office said.
