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Three prominent House Democrats are calling for advanced screening technology to be deployed at U.S. airports in the wake of an alleged terrorist plot to take down commercial airplanes using liquid explosives, but Homeland Security officials counter that such technology is not yet ready.

"It's time for a new direction in homeland security which includes next generation technologies at our airport screening checkpoints that detect liquid explosives and plastic explosives," House Democratic Caucus Chairman James Clyburn of South Carolina said in a statement Thursday, the day that British and U.S. authorities publicly disclosed that they had disrupted the alleged terrorist plot.

Equipment now used by the Transportation Security Administration for scanning passengers and baggage is not geared for detecting explosive compounds inside liquids or gels.

House Homeland Security ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said the lack of technology to ensure that liquid explosives can be detected is "a major limitation" for screening operations.

"In order to prevent future disruptions to our aviation system, this administration needs to move expeditiously to develop and install next generation explosive detection technologies with the ability to detect lethal materials like those involved in the British plot," he said.

And House Transportation and Infrastructure ranking member James Oberstar, D-Minn., said the incident "demonstrates the need to increase the number of screeners and improve our ability to detect explosives at all security checkpoints in U.S. airports."

TSA spokeswoman Amy Kudwa countered that such advanced technology does not yet exist. "The current technology is not operationally viable," Kudwa said Friday.

The Homeland Security Department did a market survey of existing technology in late 2004 and "limited operational testing" of that technology has been under way since October 2005, she said, adding that she did not know when the testing is expected to completed.

"Our operational testing is ongoing. I don't have a timeline for you," she said.

The agency is now testing products from 10 vendors to detect liquid explosive elements inside bottles, she said. The testing process is lengthy because TSA must examine how new technology will be deployed to the nation's 450 airports, Kudwa added.

A House GOP aide pointed to the funding increases Congress has made in recent years for improving explosives detection technology.

According to the aide, funding for explosives countermeasures research and development, which includes liquid explosives detection technology, increased from $18.9 million in fiscal 2005 to $43.5 million in fiscal 2006. The House version of the fiscal 2007 Homeland Security appropriations bill would further increase the funding to $76.6 million, the aide said.

COMMENTS

• Once again the Democrats whine about a problem yet offer no alternative. Banning carry-on luggage is a knee jerk reaction. Some of us, especially while on TDY status, carry our laptops and/or other business tools so we can perform our jobs at our respective destinations. A token few pounds of carry-on baggage isn't going to make much of a dent in the fuel consumption and won't make the lines go any faster. The time it takes to get through security depends on the TSA screeners working. The more experienced and smarter they are, the faster it goes. If you get stuck with morons, expect a wait. What will make security faster will be to weed out the hairballs before they board! Hasn't anyone learned anything from El Al? Sure, complain about your rights being infringed upon or the inconvenience you may face, but when was the last time the Israelis lost a plane? TSA isn't hurting so much from the lack of screening technology. It's the lack of intelligent personnel. GovExec.com reader Posted August 18, 2006 8:47 AM
• All of this is well and good, but the root cause (other than terrorists) is carry-on luggage. Rather than spending billions of dollars trying to detect liquid explosives, then having the terrorists come up with another innovative way of murdering people, just ban all carry on luggage. Aside from making us safer, it would speed up the security lines as well as getting on and off the airplane. Airlines could do without the overhead bins, saving weight and fuel. Frequent Traveler Posted August 14, 2006 2:57 AM