Screening Consolidated

Since the 9/11 attacks, the federal government has been eager to issue new forms of identification for its employees, its contractors and for private citizens. In March, the government issued policy guidelines for creating common and more secure employee and contractor ID cards. The Homeland Security Department is rolling out the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, which establishes common rules and procedures for issuing IDs to transportation industry personnel who require unescorted access to secure areas of the trucking, rail, shipping and air system. And sometime this year, the State Department expects to issue new U.S. passports containing biometric information.

The government also is screening citizens and visitors who already hold various forms of identification. The U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology is being used at ports of entry to screen and register foreign visitors. And the Transportation Security Administration is moving forward with its Secure Flight program to more closely scrutinize airline passengers.

With so many IDs and so many screening systems, Homeland Security wants to consolidate efforts. The department will combine nine screening and tracking programs into a single Office of Screening Coordination and Operations. The Bush administration wants $847 million in fiscal 2006 for the office's programs, and the consolidation is intended to eliminate redundancies.

But how well these identity management programs are being run is in question. In February, the Homeland Security inspector general reported that US VISIT had achieved "only the bare minimum" of its intended results and still isn't used to identify most foreigners entering the United States.

In March, the Homeland Security IG found that TSA had applied privacy protections inconsistently while developing and testing its airline passenger screening systems. The report focused on TSA's role in transferring 12 million airline passenger records to private contractors helping build the systems. "TSA did not ensure that privacy protections were in place for all of the passenger data transfers," the IG reported. "In addition, TSA did not consistently track the usage, security or disposition of passenger data and was, therefore, not in a position to determine whether such usage, security or disposition was appropriate."