Aviation Security: Progress Made to Set Up Program Using Private-Sector Airport Screeners, but More Work Remains

In March 2006, GAO reported that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had developed performance goals and draft measures and targets to assess the performance of private screening contractors under the Screening Partnership Program (SPP), but the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had not yet approved them or established a time frame for doing so. We stated that, according to TSA, DHS must approve the draft performance goals, measures, and targets before they can be finalized. However, as of January 2006, DHS had not yet done so, and had not set a deadline for doing so. We reported that until DHS approves these measures, TSA would not be able to finalize and implement performance measures to evaluate private screening contractors under the SPP. Further, we identified that these same measures and targets will be used by DHS to determine whether to award private screening contractors with certification status. Certification status provides the most extensive level of liability protection available under the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002 (the SAFETY Act), rendering contractors virtually immune from all pertinent claims. Consistent with the intent of our recommendation, TSA implemented 14 performance standards, which are incorporated into the six new private screening contracts awarded under the SPP. These standards include measures related to, among other things, screener hiring, screener training, and screener performance in detecting threat objects during training and testing. Additionally, DHS approved the use of seven TSA recommended performance standards, so that eligible SPP contractors may be granted certification under the SAFETY Act if they meet the required level of performance for each of these standards.

In our review of TSA's progress to set up the Screening Partnership Program (SPP), we found that SPP stakeholders need clear information on what their roles and responsibilities are to be at airports where a privatized screener workforce operates with federal oversight. We also found that the absence of such guidance may, among other things, affect the ability of responsible officials to effectively and efficiently manage screening checkpoints and the screener program in general. As a result, we recommended that TSA document and communicate to federal and private-sector stakeholders the roles and responsibilities for managing screener operations under the SPP. In October 2006, TSA released an information brief to Federal Security Directors (FSD) on the SPP. The brief contains information on the roles and responsibilities of FSDs, private screening contractors, the airport authority, and other SPP stakeholders. Additionally, TSA's requests for proposals for private screening operations set forth the roles and responsibilities of FSDs and private screening contractors under the SPP. Documenting the roles and responsibilities of SPP stakeholders in the FSD information brief and requests for proposals is consistent with our recommendation.