TSA cites progress enrolling port workers in ID card program
A majority of the estimated 1.2 million workers who must be vetted by April 14 have signed up.
The Transportation Security Administration announced Monday that 1 million workers who have access to secure areas at the nation's ports have been enrolled in the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program.
Port employees, union workers and truckers are required to undergo background checks and receive a secure identification card under the TWIC program, which has experienced repeated operational setbacks since being created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
But the program has enrolled a majority of the estimated 1.2 million workers who must be vetted by April 14, according to a TSA statement.
"Enrolling 1 million workers in less than 18 months is a testament to the collaborative efforts of TSA and the United States Coast Guard on this important maritime security effort," said Gale Rossides, TSA's acting administrator. But the program continues to face congressional criticism, mainly because TSA has not installed TWIC card readers at most U.S. ports.
Critics say the lack of readers still leaves the ports vulnerable to infiltration by unvetted personnel. But TSA has countered that the Coast Guard conducts random compliance inspections at the ports.