TSA says more money needed for airline security program

A beleaguered system for checking airline passenger names against criminal and terrorist lists is in "serious jeopardy" of missing deadlines once again if Congress does not provide more money, a Homeland Security official told lawmakers Wednesday.

"We're in very serious jeopardy of missing planned dates," said Justin Oberman, assistant administer of the Transportation Security Administration's Secure Flight program, explaining that House and Senate appropriators have reduced President Bush's budget request for the initiative this year by $15 million and $25 million, respectively. Bush asked Congress for $81 million. Last year, Congress decreased Bush's request by $35 million.

"We cannot make a go at those funding levels," Oberman told the Homeland Security Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection and Cybersecurity Subcommittee. He noted that running a system that connects every airline carrier and checks 1.8 million airline passengers daily is "very costly."

Lawmakers have criticized the Secure Flight program for not including adequate safeguards to protect traveler's personal data and missing deadlines to test and run the system. It has been renamed three times since its inception in 1996 -- from CAPPS I to CAPPS II and now Secure Flight. House and Senate appropriators said this year they reduced Secure Flight funding because TSA officials told them they will not have the program fully operational by October but will roll out the system to all commercial airliners next year, according to a House committee report on the fiscal 2006 Homeland Security spending bill.

TSA said it plans to test the first two airlines in August and the next airlines are not scheduled to begin until late 2005. Lawmakers also said TSA could not spend any money on Secure Flight until it matches 10 criteria outlined by Congress last year, including oversight, security safeguards, accuracy of data, cost to airlines, privacy protections and a system of redress for passengers who are incorrectly targeted by the system.

Oberman said Congress must meet Bush's budget request so the system can be tested in August. "I can't start the test and then turn it off when I run out of money," he argued, vowing the agency would meet all 10 criteria before full operations begin. Secure Flight, once operational, will allow TSA officials to check a traveler's name and date of birth against a consolidated list of known and suspected criminals and terrorists.