100 Percent Air Cargo Screening Continues to Infect Homeland Security

On July 31, Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, along with several other majority members of committee, sent a letter to Kip Hawley, head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), expressing discontent over the agency’s interpretation of the air cargo screening provisions of the 9/11 bill. Essentially, TSA has interpreted the act’s provisions to only include 100 percent screening for domestic cargo but not international cargo. Unfortunately, when it comes to the act’s language, Chairman Thompson is right to contend that recent air cargo screening standards in the 9/11 bill do require 100 percent screening of all passenger air cargo, whether domestic or international. But when it comes to the efficacy of this type of legislation, the result is quite the opposite. Congress has taken a completely wrong path with regards to cargo screening and should reverse course immediately.