Rep. John Mica: Air Travel Safe, but 'Got to Do Better Job' at Screening

Air travel in the United States is safe, but security screening has to be improved, Florida Rep. John Mica tells Newsmax TV.

The chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets told "Hard Line" host Ed Berliner on Monday that a recent committee meeting found that the TSA has failed in its vetting of airport workers and even its own employees.

Watch Newsmax TV on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Ch. 223 and Verizon FiOS Ch. 115. Get Newsmax TV on your cable system — Click Here Now

"This highlights the attention that we should focus on some of the people that have access to secure areas," Mica said.

The congressman added that in light of the terrorist attack on a Turkish airliner leaving a Somali airport, the chances of anyone in the United States being the victim of such an attack are "very slim." Still, he said, "we got to do a better job."

With 46,000 screeners, 55,000 employees and 9,000 administrative personnel making an average of $103,000, there should be plenty of assets to find threats, Mica said.

"It's not like we aren't spending money or putting personnel into the mix," he said. "It's how you utilize those resources and how we address the risk. I think we're at risk with some of the people who aren't being properly vetted."

One report showed that in a sampling of airport employees, 73 were on either a terrorist list or one of the watch lists.

"We have people working with green cards at some of the airports, and we don't have all of the information about those individuals and some of those previously foreign nationals working in the U.S. airports in a sensitive capacity," he said. "It's something that demands a lot more attention I believe in the United States."

Related Stories:

• Somali Airport Workers Passing Passenger a Bomb Seen on Video
• Somalia Plane Explosion From a Bomb? One Passenger Missing