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Stauber Votes to Improve Worker Protections for TSA Employees

March 5, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08) voted in support of legislation that will ensure Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening employees - otherwise known as Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) - are given the same protections as other federal workers, including collective bargaining under the Civil Service Reform Act, pay under the General Scale, and workforce protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act. H.R. 1140, the Rights for Transportation Security Officers Act of 2019, of which Stauber is a cosponsor, passed the House with a vote of 230 to 171.

Following the vote, Congressman Stauber, the only Republican from Minnesota to support the legislation, stated, "TSA Agents work tirelessly to keep the American people safe, but sadly, they are subjected to a system that denies them basic protections afforded to other federal employees. Unfortunately, the refusal to give these officers the rights guaranteed to every other federal worker has resulted inlow morale and an unusually high turnover rate at the TSA. As a pro-labor Republican in Congress, I was proud to vote for this critical legislation that will improve TSA workforce protections, help to retain experienced officers and attract new talent, and improve national security by extension."

Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Congress enacted the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which created the TSA and mandated that security screening at all airports of passengers and their property be federalized.

At the time, Congress gave the TSA Administrator broad authority to employ, appoint, discipline, terminate, and fix the compensation of its TSOs. Today, TSOs, who are federal workers, are denied the worker rights and protections that are given to all other federal workers under Title 5 of the U.S. Code.

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