TSA

The union for flight attendants is commemorating the Transportation Security Administration's forthcoming 10th anniversary.

The controversial TSA, which was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, turns 10-years-old on Saturday, Nov. 19. Since its founding, the agency has become a lightening rod for criticism, with lawmakers and airline passengers criticizing its security procedure such as pat-downs and X-rays.

But the Washington, D.C.-based Association of Flight Attendants said the TSA was "vital."

“Created in the aftermath of September 11th, the TSA has worked every day to strengthen the security of our nation's transportation systems," AFA President Veda Shook said in a statement. "As front-line safety professionals, Flight Attendants count on the TSA and the thousands of unionized Transportation Security Officers who ensure a secure work environment and safe travels for passengers."

Read more...

The 1972 presidential nominee called the Transportation Security Administration a "palliative that costs $7 billion a year and rising."

"TSA has not prevented any attacks," said Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.). "We've just been very fortunate."

The Transportation Security Administration has fired one of its employees for negative posts he made on Facebook about the Muslim faith, according to reports.

ABC News Chicago affiliate WLS reported that Chicago resident Roy Egan, who was a baggage inspector at O'Hare International Airport, was fired from his job after the network uncovered posts on his Facebook page.

The station reported that Egan had posted statements such as "Islam a cult that glorifies death ... and a filthy religion," on his page on the social networking website.

Days before one of the busiest travel periods of the year, a key lawmaker is targeting TSA for major changes. 

The Transportation Security Administration is encouraging families traveling for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays to use a dedicated lane that would allow frequent fliers to avoid them.

In a post on the TSA's blog, the agency said the "family lanes" it launched in 2008 were a way large group could improve their airport security experience, as well as other passengers'.

"Frequent flyers hate it when they’re in line behind a family, and guess what… families hate it when the frequent flyer is behind them tapping their foot and sighing," the agency's "Blogger Bob" Burns wrote Tuesday.

Jenni Farley of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” is the latest traveler to complain about TSA screening. 

Republicans vying to challenge Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) in 2012 are mocking her complaints this week about airport security screenings, saying she's just now experiencing the humiliations of air travel because she no longer owns a private jet.

McCaskill (D-Mo.), who sold a private plane she owned with her husband earlier this year after unpaid taxes on the jet came to light, complained in a Senate hearing Wednesday about TSA's controversial pat-down hand searches.

McCaskill is being heavily targeted by the Republican Party next year. She said Wednesday that the TSA's procedures made her not look forward to flying.

One of McCaskill's potential GOP opponents, former Missouri state Treasurer Sarah Steelman, said Thursday that the senator was just now learning how other airline passengers feel.

"Welcome to the real world, Claire," Steelman said in a statement that was provided to The Hill.

Both Democrats and Republicans at a committee hearing criticized and praised the Transportation Security Administration's airport security procedures.

Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole will face another committee of lawmakers this week as the agency recovers from the latest firestorm about its airport security procedures.

Pistole will appear Wednesday before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee to update lawmakers on TSA's current procedures, including its new Pre-Check known-traveler program and its behavior detection efforts. 

Pistole recently delivered a similar update before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee during a hearing called to examine aviation security a decade after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.