House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica, R-Fla., says the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) needs to be more forthcoming about its firing of five employees at the Fort Myers, Fla., airport last week.
The TSA hasn’t revealed why it canned the workers,
The Hill reports. "Recent meltdowns such as those in New York, Newark, Palm Beach, Honolulu, Charlotte, and Los Angeles have become familiar,” Mica said in a statement Monday.
“This latest incident may be a more serious breach than the agency has indicated, and could involve high level TSA administrative personnel at the airport . . . It appears TSA may be trying to keep the public and the media in the dark, but they have a responsibility to Congress to report serious security meltdowns.”
The TSA offered only a general explanation of its action. It "holds all of its employees to the highest professional and ethical standards and has a zero tolerance for misconduct in the workplace," the agency told The Hill.
"Accountability is an important aspect of our work, and TSA takes appropriate action with any employee who does not follow our procedures."
The firings prove the TSA’s “strong commitment to ensure the safety of the traveling public and to hold all our employees to the highest standards of conduct and accountability," it says.
Mica co-authored the law that created the TSA after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But he has been a frequent critic of the agency.
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