TSA Promoted PreCheck Program But Didn't Plan for Its Popularity
(Bloomberg) -- The Transportation Safety Administration failed to plan for the popularity of its PreCheck program, causing staffing headaches and a backlog of paperwork, according to a new report.
In an effort to enroll 25 million people in the program by 2019, TSA launched an extensive marketing campaign and opened additional enrollment centers but did not have a process in place to review all the applications, the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General said in a report.
"The current process is not suitable for a program receiving and adjudicating thousands of applications a day," OIG said in its report released Thursday. "In June 2016, TSA PreCheck applications surged, leaving the Adjudication Center overwhelmed with applications to manually process."
The program uses automated intelligence-related checks along with reviews of citizenship and criminal records to determine whether a person meets eligibility requirements. About 74 percent of applicants were automatically approved because TSA did not receive disqualifying information.
TSA did not provide additional resources or staff to the Adjudication Center, which is responsible for manually processing about 26 percent of TSA PreCheck Application Program applications, the report said.
TSA said it agreed with the OIG's recommendations and would fix the problems by hiring additional workers and upgrading its software to speed up the assignment and tracking of cases.
The PreCheck program was established in 2013 to speed up airport security screening. In January, the agency determined that 12.8 million travelers were eligible for the program and that about 4.3 million were already enrolled.
The agency said it has determined that 15 other populations are "low risk" and eligible for TSA PreCheck.
To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Flatley in Washington at dflatley1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman, Mark Drajem
©2017 Bloomberg L.P.
-
Navigating Friction And Energy Realities: An Analysis Of Marco Rubio's October Visit To India
Occurring at a critical juncture marked by stalled trade negotiations and escalating geopolitical pressures over global energy supplies, the visit offers a profound window into modern US-India relations.
-
India Exports Capital. Why Not Export Trusteeship?
The big question, then, is whether India can build an institution that global borrowers, investors, banks, and lawyers can trust, even without an Indian connection.
-
France's Economy & Politics Are In Crisis | The Reason Why
Let's look at how the French economy and politics evolved under Nicolas Sarkozy, Franois Hollande and Emmanuel Macron.
-
You May Inherit The Business. You Must Earn Its Credibility.
Succession tests the founder's ability to share authority as much as it tests the next generation's readiness to assume it.
-
Signing Deals Is One Thing; Making Them Work Is Another | The Week In Whys
Sometimes, things don't turn out as planned. Indian companies have lost some bids to rivals, some projects won't produce until 2030.
-
FOMC Wall, PERM Suspension, Hospital Stocks | Talking Points This Week
A PERM suspension would directly affect green-card sponsorship rather than H-1B visas, so the near-term earnings impact could remain relatively limited. The key question is whether this marks a new phase in US scrutiny of Indian IT.
-
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once: Dalal Street's Week To Forget | Joining The Dots
Visa curbs, a Starlink spat and cancer drug caps: what connects this week's shocks for Indian markets
-
India Is Going Abroad For Critical Minerals. But It May Take Years To Pay Off | The Reason Why
Although India's steps are in the right direction, they remain modest compared with India's growing dependence.
-
When Everyone Has AI, What Gives You An Edge?
India's young workforce is entering an uncertain world of work where powerful AI tools are becoming widely accessible. The advantage will belong to those who combine deep expertise with digital fluency, and the distinctly human capabilities that technology cannot manufacture.
-
Wrong Labels, High Pesticide Residues Holding Back Agri Exports | The Reason Why
India needs stronger domestic food-safety and labelling standards, with best practices becoming part of everyday business for farmers, traders and food companies.
