U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today demanded answers from the Transportation Security Administration in light of the recent resignation of a top administrator who had received nearly $100,000 in bonus payments spread out over more than a year to avoid detection.
“Is there any connection on bonuses to where the agency is succeeding?” asked McCaskill, a senior member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “You know in the private sector bonuses change according to how the company did—and that’s not been the way in government. I don’t think anyone looking objectively at TSA over the last couple of years would say that the bonus pool should be really big.”
The agency has come under criticism recently for a number of highly publicized failures. Reports of multi-hour delays at major airport hubs throughout the United States have been common—delays which have resulted in missed flights for consumers and delayed flights for airlines. Last year, Transportation Security Administration agents failed to detect 67 out of 70 weapons, improvised explosive devices or other prohibited objects brought through security by Department of Homeland Security Inspector General officers in undercover tests. Despite these failures, the agency’s former assistant administrator for the Office of Security Operations, Kelly Hoggan, received $90,000 in bonus payments which were spread over 13 months to evade scrutiny and exceed the 20 percent cap on bonuses.
McCaskill gave credit to the current Administrator, Peter Neffenger, for instituting reforms at the agency, but stressed that broader reform is needed, and asked the committee Chairman to look into the issues.
Hearing witnesses included Peter Neffenger, Administrator, TSA; John Roth, Inspector General, DHS; and Jennifer Grover, Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office.
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