Action Alert: Please Urge Your House Lawmakers to Support Aviation Security Funding Priorities
April 6, 2021
We need your help to convince House of Representative lawmakers to fund our aviation security priorities in the upcoming Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2022 and to end the diversion of aviation security fees to pay for deficit reduction.
Support Funding to TSA Law Enforcement Officer Grants and Staffing of Exit Lanes:
As House Appropriations Committee members begin to consider the FY22 funding request for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), House Homeland Security Ranking Member John Katko (R-NY) and Representative Val Demings (D-FL) are seeking co-signers for a letter they intend to send to the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee on Monday, April 26, 2021, in support of full funding for TSA law enforcement officer (LEO) reimbursement grants and TSA staffing of exit lanes.
As you will recall, the previous Administration consistently proposed eliminating funding for these two programs and shifting these costs on to airports. For the past four years, Congress rejected those proposals because of strong objections from the airport community and members of Congress. Until the FY22 budget request is released next month, which is after the House Appropriations Committee deadline to support critical programs closes, we will not know if the Administration will propose to eliminate funding or will request funding for LEO reimbursement grants and TSA staffing of exit lanes in the sterile areas of airports.
Request: We are urging airports to contact their House members and ask them to co-sign the Katko-Demings letter on funding for LEO reimbursements and exit lane staffing. It is critical to communicate with all members of the House of Representatives, not just those on key committees. Contact information for your House member is available via this link.
Airports should ask any interested Members of Congress to contact Andrew.Nicholson@mail.house.gov with Congressman Katko or Aimee.Collins-Mandeville@mail.house.gov with Congresswoman Demings to sign on to this letter.
Support Ending the Diversion of Aviation Security User Fees:
Since 2013, Congress has been diverting one-third of the revenue collected from airline passenger security fees to pay for unrelated government spending. By FY27, more than $19 billion will be diverted unless the current law is changed.
In March, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and John Katko (R-NY) along with Chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), re-introduced The Funding for Aviation Screeners and Threat Elimination Restoration (FASTER) Act. This legislation would eliminate this diversion, ensure that passenger security fees go solely towards aviation security, and prevent Congress from raiding the funds in the future. The FASTER Act would redirect billions of dollars in funding back to TSA, so they can invest in their workforce, 21st-century screening technology, and ensure a more efficient and safer screening process, especially as air travel is expected to pick back up this year.
Request: We are urging airports to contact their House members and ask them to co-sponsor this bill as well as advocate for its passage. This will ensure that all the aviation security fees collected are used to help finance the cost of aviation security screening at our airports, not diverted to general deficit reduction.
Thank you for your help on both of these requests!
We need your help to convince House of Representative lawmakers to fund our aviation security priorities in the upcoming Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2022 and to end the diversion of aviation security fees to pay for deficit reduction.
Support Funding to TSA Law Enforcement Officer Grants and Staffing of Exit Lanes:
As House Appropriations Committee members begin to consider the FY22 funding request for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), House Homeland Security Ranking Member John Katko (R-NY) and Representative Val Demings (D-FL) are seeking co-signers for a letter they intend to send to the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee on Monday, April 26, 2021, in support of full funding for TSA law enforcement officer (LEO) reimbursement grants and TSA staffing of exit lanes.
As you will recall, the previous Administration consistently proposed eliminating funding for these two programs and shifting these costs on to airports. For the past four years, Congress rejected those proposals because of strong objections from the airport community and members of Congress. Until the FY22 budget request is released next month, which is after the House Appropriations Committee deadline to support critical programs closes, we will not know if the Administration will propose to eliminate funding or will request funding for LEO reimbursement grants and TSA staffing of exit lanes in the sterile areas of airports.
Request: We are urging airports to contact their House members and ask them to co-sign the Katko-Demings letter on funding for LEO reimbursements and exit lane staffing. It is critical to communicate with all members of the House of Representatives, not just those on key committees. Contact information for your House member is available via this link.
Airports should ask any interested Members of Congress to contact Andrew.Nicholson@mail.house.gov with Congressman Katko or Aimee.Collins-Mandeville@mail.house.gov with Congresswoman Demings to sign on to this letter.
Support Ending the Diversion of Aviation Security User Fees:
Since 2013, Congress has been diverting one-third of the revenue collected from airline passenger security fees to pay for unrelated government spending. By FY27, more than $19 billion will be diverted unless the current law is changed.
In March, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and John Katko (R-NY) along with Chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), re-introduced The Funding for Aviation Screeners and Threat Elimination Restoration (FASTER) Act. This legislation would eliminate this diversion, ensure that passenger security fees go solely towards aviation security, and prevent Congress from raiding the funds in the future. The FASTER Act would redirect billions of dollars in funding back to TSA, so they can invest in their workforce, 21st-century screening technology, and ensure a more efficient and safer screening process, especially as air travel is expected to pick back up this year.
Request: We are urging airports to contact their House members and ask them to co-sponsor this bill as well as advocate for its passage. This will ensure that all the aviation security fees collected are used to help finance the cost of aviation security screening at our airports, not diverted to general deficit reduction.
Thank you for your help on both of these requests!
