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Strengthening Security Through a Layered Approach

News & Happenings

November 15, 2007

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"TSA's mission is to protect the nation's transportation systems while facilitating the movement of people and commerce. We recognize the importance of physical screening to the security of our aviation network, and our risk-based strategy includes innovations and investments in training, workforce deployment, and technology. At the same time, we are committed to a strategy that goes far beyond physical screening. It begins with intelligence gathered by multiple U.S. agencies that is analyzed, shared, and applied. It includes checking every passenger manifest against terror watch lists and observing behaviors and activities in the airport environment. And, finally, it includes a law enforcement presence in airports and on aircraft, and a partnership with airlines, airports, pilots, flight crew members, and the traveling public – all of whom are committed to stopping terrorists in their tracks."

TSA Administrator Kip Hawley
Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science and Transportation

April 4, 2006

WHAT TSA ADMINISTRATOR KIP HAWLEY HAS SAID: 2005 to PRESENT

October 2005
Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
"While it is necessary, it is no longer sufficient to focus on finding weapons and
common explosives; we must enhance our ability to recognize suspicious
behavioral patterns and demeanors to identify people who may have devised a
new means to attack our transportation systems or passengers."

December 2005
TSA Press Release
"It is paramount to the security of our aviation system that terrorists not be able to know with certainty what screening procedures they will encounter at airports around the nation. By incorporating unpredictability into our procedures and eliminating low-threat items, we can better focus our efforts on stopping individuals that wish to do us harm."

December 2005
Testimony before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
"It's not about scissors, it's about bombs… Our goal is to establish flexible protocols based on risk, so that terrorists cannot use the predictability of our security measures to their advantage when planning an attack."
"…we have many independent, interlocking layers of security that reinforce each other. Any one of them can be beaten, but together, they are formidable."

April 2006
Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
"…we are best served by a focus on getting the most out of what we have deployed today – in terms of both people and equipment. When the technology is available, it should be ready for widespread economical deployment, as part of an integrated screening process that includes behavior pattern recognition, document checking, and other security measures."

April 2007
Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security - Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection
"Just as we are pushing the perimeter of security beyond the checkpoint for passengers—with the use of behavior recognition, document checkers, canine teams—we are using the same strategy when it comes to employee screening. Better overall security is achieved if personnel are not tied down at checkpoints checking and re-checking people that work in the airport every day."

April 2007
Speech at U.S. Chamber of Commerce
"If you're only looking to see whether somebody's carrying a prohibited item, you're going to miss the terrorist who's doing a casing of the place, or traveling on the way to do something else. That is a huge opportunity to miss, and we are not missing that."

October 2007
Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
"Just since June, we have witnessed disrupted attacks in London, Denmark, and Germany - as well as a completed attack on Glasgow's airport in Scotland. There is no reason to think that we are exempt from that kind of attack planning.

The National Intelligence Estimate indicates that over the next three years the threat will continue, with terrorists attempting transportation sector attacks on a grand scale.
We know their focus is on using items easily available off grocery and hardware store shelves. That means we cannot rely on a checklist mentality—searching bags for a static list of specific, prohibited objects or becoming stuck in a predicable—and therefore vulnerable—routine."

October 16, 2007
Testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security
Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection
"TSA has added layers of security and additional technology to our airport operations. We have continued to provide more training and real threat testing of our front-line officers. Federal Air Marshals move invisibly to protect Americans wherever they fly around the globe, and VIPR teams are deployed every week in support of our shared mission with our stakeholders."