TSA reportedly derailed bill to regulate airport surveillance

Senate Republicans are blaming the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for derailing a bipartisan bill that seeks to restrict the use of facial recognition technologies, Politico reported on Sunday.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz was forced to postpone consideration of a bill that would place restrictions on the TSA’s ability to use biometrics and facial recognition last week after travel industry groups lobbied against the legislation, according to Politico. However, some Republican lawmakers have privately asserted that the TSA helped facilitate the industry’s lobbying push against the bill, the outlet reported.

“The short answer is yes; the long answer is hell yes,” Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, told Politico when asked if TSA had been raising concerns. “They’re working like an ugly stripper to kill this bill, which tells me we’re doing the right thing.”

One anonymous senior Senate Republican aide told Politico that the “smears against [the] bill have TSA’s fingerprints all over it.”

A screenshot of a text message reviewed by Politico showed one lobbyist for a travel association saying they heard directly from TSA officials that they had significant concerns about the bill. Additionally, a screenshot of a separate text message obtained by Politico showed one administration official detailing how the TSA was advocating against certain provisions of the legislation.

When asked Thursday whether he thinks the TSA itself was voicing concerns over the legislation, Cruz replied “undoubtedly,” Politico reported.

Some air industry groups notably sent a July 28 letter to Cruz and Democratic Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell — her party’s top member on the Commerce Committee — claiming the legislation was a “step backward,” The Hill reported on Tuesday.

“The future of seamless and secure travel relies on the appropriate use of this technology to ensure security effectiveness and operational efficiency as daily travel volume continues to rise,” the groups wrote, according to The Hill. “We are concerned that the vague and confusing exceptions to this blanket ban will have major consequences for the identity verification process, screening operations, and trusted traveler enrollment programs.”

Democratic Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, who introduced the bill in the Senate alongside Kennedy, wrote in a May 8 social media post that “a national facial recognition system and a database of faces is a slippery slope to a surveillance state.”

Still, Cruz said he thinks that the bill is eventually going to pass, Politico reported.

“I think the bill will get marked up,” Cruz said, according to the outlet.

The TSA did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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