Bill Requires Parental OK for TSA Child Pat-Downs

A longtime Transportation Security Administration (TSA) critic has introduced legislation to bar airport searches of children without parental consent. The legislation introduced by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, comes in the wake of a video showing a female TSA screener frisking a 6-year-old girl, The Washington Post reported.

The legislation introduced by Chaffetz, who has opposed the pat-downs since they started, would prohibit a physical search of a minor without the consent and presence of a parent.

If a child was traveling along, a representative of the airline on which the child is traveling must give their consent, the Post said.

TSA has defended the search of the child and warned that a ban on screening children could lead to terrorists using children to sneak bombs onto planes.

Chaffetz has had a rocky relationship with the TSA for some time. He had opposed allowing screeners to join unions and believed that they then targeted him for enhanced screening as a result, the Post reported.

Screeners made him pass through a full-body scanner, which he objects to, at the airport in Salt Lake City.

The TSA union representing the Salt Lake screeners said the agents were following procedure, the Post added.