1) While in the midst of the #TrumpShutdown, let's talk about the @TSA and how much of our tax dollars are wasted on something that does not make us any safer. But first, some history:
2) Prior to 9/11, private companies held the responsibility of screening passengers. At Logan airport, Globe Securities was contracted by @AmericanAir and Huntleigh USA by @united. At Dulles and Newark airport, Argenbright Security was contracted by UA.
3) All security operated with the CAPPS system (computer assisted passenger prescreening). The system used a passenger name record (PNR) that provides risk assessments to passengers based upon collected data (name, address, no-fly list, etc).
4) That system continued to be used until an update (CAPPS II) was presented in 2003/4. George Bush ultimately terminated the proposal after outcries that the new measures would be unconstitutional.
5) Didn't matter either way as a new system called "Secure Flight" was later implemented, even though it shares the same features of CAPPS II that raised civil liberty concerns and issues of due process.
6) 10 of the 9/11 terrorists were flagged by CAPPS I, but security employees let them through anyway. An AA employee in DC flagged one of the men for NOT HAVING A PHOTO ID. Metal detectors, wands, and explosive trace detectors were in place at this time and are still used today.
7) I will use this thread to once again remind people that 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia.
8) @TSA was formed after 9/11 to *enhance airport screening and to provide a greater sense of security for passengers. A new TAX (how dare they!) was added to tickets for $2.50 each way, with a cap of $10 with connecting flights, to cover the “September 11th Security Fee” (TSA).
9) In 2014, the Obama administration raised that tax from $2.50 to $5.60 in each direction as a way to (ahem) not only fund the @TSA, but to also pay down the federal deficit. cnn.com/2014/07/21/tra…
10) In 2017, @realdonaldtrump proposed increasing that tax by another dollar while simultaneously slashing the #TSA’s federal budget by 11%. The added tax would NOT go towards airport security, but to building “the wall” washingtonpost.com/world/national…
11) At the moment, #TSA receives more than $7 billion from the federal government. They also get to keep all money left by passengers, which went from $500K a year to more than $1 million a year and growing. And that’s for the money actually handed over. cnbc.com/2017/04/13/kee…
12) A Google search for earnings from the @TSA PreCheck program yields nothing. But per a #TSA release in 2017, 5+ million people enrolled. That breaks down to an additional $85 mil/year at a $17/year per person cost, not including Global Entry at $20/yr. tsa.gov/news/releases/…
13) Make no mistake, @TSA PreCheck has always been about exploiting security for profit. It offers no real additional security. Do you really think paying $17/year will stop would-be terrorists? latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/…
14) I know you must be thinking they must be doing SOMETHING to make us safer. Not at all. I'm sure you remember this report where TSA agents failed to stop mock explosives and banned weapons from going through 95% of the time. NINETY FIVE PERCENT FAILURE. abcnews.go.com/US/exclusive-u…
15) That report was from 2015. The acting head of @TSA, Melvin Carraway, was reassigned after it came out. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/i…
16) I know what you're thinking, "Surely, things have improved since then, right?!" Meh. In 2017, information was leaked from a classified meeting on new undercover tests that revealed #TSA still failed to stop mock bombs & real weapons ~80% of the time. abcnews.go.com/US/tsa-fails-t…
17) Mind you, these undercover tests were conducted by the #TSA's own parent agency, the Dept. of Homeland Security (@DHSgov) who I'll need to do a whole separate rant against, but for now you can read this @voxdotcom article from 2015's gov't shutdown vox.com/2015/2/17/8047…
18) In fact, the entire existence of #TSA was built as a form of "security theater", a term coined by security expert @schneierblog that means "measures that make people feel more secure without doing anything to actually improve their security" schneier.com/essays/archive…
19) While you're going down this rabbit-hole with me, please do your own research of #securitytheater - too much comes up for me to list. The proposed border wall is another good example of this. cato.org/publications/c…
20) What about the shoe-bomber? Nope. They failed to stop him and there is no proof it would have been effective anyways. Liquids? You can't have more than 3.4 ounces of liquid in a container, but you (and your group) can bring LOTS of little containers.
21) Who are we to allow science to interfere in our policy-making though, amirite? scientificamerican.com/article/tsa-du…
22) Has #TSA even stopped terrorists? Doubtful. There is no evidence to conclude it has stopped any major terrorist attack. And on top of that, more people travel by other means that lack nearly ANY security (ferries, subways, busses) washingtonpost.com/local/traffica…
23) Yep, @TSA is also responsible for protecting those other transportation systems, but only put 2% of their budget towards non-airport related security nytimes.com/2015/12/12/us/…
24) Even with billions of dollars and utilizing the improved CAPPS I state-of-the-art "Secure Flight" system, people still make it through security. Another example: in 2014 a convicted terrorist with a background in explosives went through PreCheck. fox9.com/news/convicted…
25) In reference to the above incident, a #TSA Agent notified his supervisor upon recognizing the terrorist and he was directed to "take no further action and allow the traveler through the TSA Pre Check lane." Sara Jane Olson planted explosives underneath police cars in 1975.
26) So who benefits from @TSA? Look up the company @MorphoTrust. In 2012, they received a 1-year contract with options to continue. The total contract value for five years was estimated to be $248 million. findbiometrics.com/morphotrust-us…
27) That does not include the prior 6 years worth of contracts the company held with @TSA following the attacks of 9/11. Of which I'd love for someone else to dig into if you have the time! #TSA #MorphoTrust
28) @RapiscanSystems agreed to cancel a $40 mil contract with TSA when their invasive scanning systems produced nearly-nude images of passengers (including politicians!) that were shared/mocked by TSA employees. washingtonpost.com/local/traffica…
29) In 2007, #TSA was proud to announce $52.3 million worth of contracts for the year with room for more purchases "over the next two years". $21 million of that was awarded to @smithsdetection. Other corps included @AnalogicAVSEC, & Nomadics, Inc tsa.gov/news/releases/…
30) To try and wrap this thread up, @TSA is a complete waste of money that does nothing to protect us. With between an 80-95% rate of failure, it takes less than 1% for another 9/11 to occur. And those failures were not due to technology, but human error.
31) Rather than waste nearly $8 billion a year on #TSA, we could drastically & safely downsize the agency (or place it back with airlines/airports) & use that $ for other things with REAL value, ie. medicare for all, education, infrastructure, and investing in renewable energy.
