To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. TESTING TIME FOR TSA Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP) to screen and verify cargo offsite, at “the point of origin.” TSA said in February that 30 new facilities were being added each week. This frees up space and manpower for more traditional cargo screening at the airports, including canine searches, EDS machines, decompression chambers and physical examinations. Many agree that the ultimate 100 percent goal will be more difficult to achieve. Already, TSA has been negotiating deals with foreign entities, like the European Union, to screen cargo coming into the country. But Napolitano was candid with Congress when she said in February that it was likely the 2012 deadline for all cargo at the ports would not be met because of the sheer scope of international agreements to be made before that happens. Former TSA Administrator Stone, who supports the spirit of the mandates, nonetheless says the snags will come on the international front. This is a good time for Napolitano to engage in a more cooperative approach with international partners, he said. “It cannot be done unilaterally. I think this administration … will actually undergo some dialogue to figure out how we can do this as a team.” bag, since issues of competence and morale still come into play. Napolitano may force the issue of collective bargaining for the department’s 48,000 unionized screeners, while some members of Congress may push for greater privatization of the workforce. Privacy remains a key flashpoint as the agency readies to take over all watch-list and identity checking from the airlines under Secure Flight. It is still considering biometrics for individual IDs and now has full body scanners that can see travelers unclothed. Such advanced screening has gotten the green light from Napolitano, who was happy to receive some $1 billion in stimulus money for the full-body machines and other advanced screening technology to replace increasingly out-of-date systems. Given the shaky economic times, cost and feasibility will certainly come into question with many of TSA’s more ambitious programs, like Secure Flight, and implementing new directives mandating 100 percent screening of all domestic and international passenger flights and maritime cargo. Napolitano and her new TSA chief, who was not yet selected as of this writing, are likely to apply an amount of pragmatism to their new roles, not seeming inclined to make sweeping ideological or systematic changes to the department—at least not yet. The experts interviewed agreed that Napolitano and her new TSA chief will have a unique opportunity to look at a host of programs and personnel issues that defined TSA during the former administration. They must take a hard look at the misfires and flagging successes in some areas, while reinforcing the policies and procedures that have helped to prevent another terrorist attack since 9/11. “Leadership,” said Sural, the former TSA legislative director, “will help focus and define the mission.” HST Analysis TSA has often been an agency that has swung between two extremes. On one hand, officials like to believe it helped prevent another 9/11-style attack, particularly in the nation’s aviation sector. Industry observers say airport security, particularly at the passenger checkpoints, has become less of a hassle and source of confusion for travelers as extra steps were taken to shuttle frequent fliers through easily, while maintaining tough screening procedures. However, the efficacy of the human screeners proved a mixed Register online today for exclusive online content and eNewsletters Homeland Security Today Magazine | May 2009 27