Flight Attendants Blame Obstructionists in Congress for Long Lines at the Airport
WASHINGTON (May 27, 2016) – The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) calls on Congress during this busy holiday travel weekend to fully fund airport security. Today, Ranking Members of the House Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Homeland Security Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), along with Representative Bob Dold (R-IL), introduced bipartisan legislation that would help ease congestion and long lines at TSA screening checkpoints at airports.
“Passengers should blame obstructionists in Congress, not TSA for the long lines at airports around the country,” said Sara Nelson, international president of AFA. “We commend Rep. DeFazio, Rep. Thompson, and Rep. Dold for introducing this legislation to ensure TSA is fully funded. We need 6,000 more transport security officers (TSO) at checkpoints, not privatization with no accountability and minimal oversight. Private security at airports failed us 15 years ago and we cannot go back. We will Never Forget. AFA supports American Federation of Government Employees, who represents our nation’s TSOs, in their call to properly fund our security.”
In 2013, Congress began diverting one-third of the revenue collected from the airline passenger security fees to offset unrelated government spending. The FASTER Act, H.R. 5340, would ensure that passenger security fees only go towards aviation security and prevent Congress from raiding the funds in the future.
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The Association of Flight Attendants is the world’s largest Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 70 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 50,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.
