Beginning on November 19, 2004, all commercial  airports with federal security screening will be eligible to apply to opt-out  of using federal screeners. The five airports selected to participate in the pilot program have  decided to continue using private screeners and will not have to apply for  the opt-out program beginning in November 2004. TSA Is Finalizing Policies and Procedures Governing the Opt-Out Program

		TSA Has Developed Criteria for Qualifying Private Contractors, with Additional Information under Development

In late October 2004, TSA finalized and publicly released guidelines  providing criteria for determining how and when private screening  contractors will be evaluated and selected to participate in the opt-out  program. TSA’s Internal Policies and Procedures for the Opt-Out Program Are under Development

TSA developed draft procedures to document how opt-out program  applications will be processed. TSA expects to finalize this study later  in November 2004. In addition, TSA developed a draft transition plan, which will serve as  internal guidance for the agency and is not intended for public release. This is to be an operations plan designed to support TSA’s efforts to  transition airports from federal to private screeners. TSA Is Taking Steps to Communicate with Stakeholders about the Opt-Out Program, but Some Say Additional Information Is Needed

		Stakeholders Seek Additional Information from TSA on Operational Flexibilities, Liability, and Cost Issues

In addition to the June 2004 initial guidance, statement of work for the  pilot program contractors, and presolicitation synopsis, TSA has finalized  other informational guidance for airport operators and private screening  contractors. TSA also asks airport officials to provide information on the airport  authority’s primary reason for wanting to participate in the opt-out  program, whether the airport has a preferred timeline for when the  transition to private screening should occur, and to list scheduled  activities that could interfere with the transition, such as peak travel  season and major construction. Based in part on these e-mails, in early September 2004, TSA developed  and posted on its Web site an initial list of responses to frequently asked  questions (FAQ). The information that stakeholders told  TSA and us that they needed falls into three categories: operational  flexibility with respect to how much leeway airports and private screening  contractors would have to manage the program; liability protection in the  event that a screener fails to detect a threat object; and costs related to  participating in the opt-out program. Some  airport industry representatives we spoke with raised operational  flexibility as a concern as well. As of November  15, 2004, this information had not been posted. TSA Is Developing Performance Measures for the Opt- Out Program, but More Work Remains To Be Done

TSA is developing measures to assess the screening performance of  airports that will participate in the opt-out program and individual  contractors performing the screening services, but specific performance  measures have not been finalized. In June 2004, TSA developed a draft of  the performance measurement principles and actual measures that TSA is  considering to measure the performance of the entire opt-out program and  private screening operations. In addition to assessing how the performance of federal and private  screening services compare, TSA is working to develop performance  measures for evaluating how well private screening contractors comply  with the terms of their contracts. The contractor-related performance measures TSA plans to develop are to  be included in a quality assurance plan. TSA expects to implement these measures in mid-2005, as  contracts are being awarded. The agencies generally agreed with our findings, and we incorporated their  technical comments where appropriate. We reviewed documents  including:    all guidance-related materials TSA had developed to date for airports; reports from an independent consulting study prepared for TSA that  evaluated the contract screening pilot program and made suggested  improvements to the program;  information from two congressional committee-sponsored roundtables  on the program;  testimony at congressional hearings on the program;    provisions of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act;   our prior reports that addressed issues related to the opt-out program,  including the performance of airport passenger and checked baggage  screeners.
Why GAO Did This Study

Beginning on November 19, 2004, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is required by law to begin allowing commercial airports to apply to use private contractors to screen passengers and checked baggage. A federal workforce has performed this work since November 2002, in response to a congressional mandate that the federal government take over screening services after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. A 2-year pilot program at five airports testing the effectiveness of private sector screening in a post-September 11 environment concluded on November 18, 2004. This report contains GAO's preliminary observations related to TSA's progress in developing a private-sector screening program that allows airports to apply to opt out of using federal screeners. GAO assessed: (1) the status of TSA's efforts to develop policies and procedures for the opt-out program, including operational plans and guidelines for selecting airports and contractors that may participate; (2) guidance about the opt-out program that TSA has provided to airport operators and other stakeholders, or plans to develop, and how the information is communicated; and (3) TSA's efforts to develop performance measures for evaluating the opt-out program and contractor performance.

What GAO Found

As of November 2004, TSA has completed or is developing key policies and procedures for the opt-out program. Specifically, TSA has completed and released guidelines for determining how and when private screening contractors will be evaluated and selected to participate in the opt-out program. TSA also has released supplemental information for evaluating potential contractors, such as their financial capabilities. TSA also has prepared a draft technical statement of work for the private screening contractors operating at five pilot program airports, which is to serve as a basis for contractors seeking to serve other airports. In addition, TSA has developed, or is currently developing, internal guidance for managing the opt-out program, such as a transition plan for helping airports to move from federal to private screeners. TSA expects to complete the remaining policies and procedures by mid-2005. TSA is taking steps to communicate with stakeholders about the opt-out program by developing informational guidance and soliciting information and suggestions from them. For instance, since releasing initial summary guidance about the program in June 2004, TSA has posted an opt-out program application for airport operators that asks, among other things, the primary reason for wanting to participate in the opt-out program and the preferred timeline for transitioning to private screening operations. TSA also has posted lists of frequently asked questions and answers on its Web site, in response to questions from stakeholders about the airport application and contracting process. However, some airport operators, private screening contractors, and aviation industry representatives told GAO that they need additional information about how much leeway airports and contractors would have to manage the program, liability protection, and costs related to participating in the opt-out program. TSA is developing performance measures both to assess the screening performance of airports that will participate in the opt-out program and individual contractors performing the screening services, but specific performance measures have not been finalized. TSA said measures for the opt-out program will be based on measures already developed by an independent consulting firm for the five airports participating in the opt-out pilot program. These measures include how well screeners detect test threat objects, such as guns and knives, during screening operations. TSA is also developing performance measures to evaluate how well private screening contractors comply with the terms of their contracts, which will become part of a quality assurance plan. TSA expects to implement contractor-related performance measures in mid-2005, as contracts are being awarded. A draft of this report was provided to TSA. TSA officials generally agreed with our findings and provided technical comments that have been incorporated as appropriate.