TSA has operational responsibility for  conducting passenger and checked baggage screening at most airports,  and has regulatory, or oversight, responsibility, for air carriers who  conduct air cargo screening. Figure 1 identifies reported aviation security  funding for fiscal years 2004 through 2008. According to TSA congressional  budget justifications, TSA received appropriations for surface  transportation security that totaled about $175 million since fiscal year  2005. In accordance with the act, we reviewed (1) TSA’s  efforts to develop reliable cost and schedule estimates for Secure Flight;  (2) progress made by TSA in developing and implementing the Secure  Flight system, including the implementation of security controls; (3) TSA’s  efforts to coordinate with CBP to integrate Secure Flight with CBP’s  watch-list matching function for international flights; (4) TSA’s plans to  protect private passenger information under Secure Flight; and (5) DHS’s  efforts to assess the effectiveness of the current redress process for  passengers misidentified as being on or wrongly assigned to the No Fly or  Selectee list. TSA’s security  mission includes establishing security standards and conducting  assessments and inspections of surface transportation modes, including  passenger and freight rail; mass transit; highways and commercial  vehicles; and pipelines. Finally, TSA is exploring  new technologies to enhance the detection of explosives and other threats,  but continues to face management and funding challenges in developing  and fielding technologies at airport checkpoints. TSA Has Taken Steps to Strengthen Passenger Screening Procedures, but Could Improve Its Evaluation and Documentation of Proposed Procedures

In addition to TSA’s efforts to strengthen the allocation of its TSO  workforce, TSA has taken steps to strengthen passenger checkpoint  screening procedures to enhance the detection of prohibited items. For  example, TSA has issued an Air Cargo Strategic Plan that focused on  securing the domestic air cargo supply chain. TSA Has Made Progress in Developing and Implementing the Secure Flight Program, but Can Further Strengthen Its Efforts

In February 2008, we reported that TSA has made substantial progress in  instilling more discipline and rigor into Secure Flight’s development and  implementation, but challenges remain that may hinder the program’s  progress moving forward. While the Secure Flight program office has  completed important steps to incorporate security into the system’s  development, it has not fully completed other steps to ensure security is  effectively addressed. Previous GAO work identified that agencies successful in evaluating  performance had measures that used attributes from GAO’s best  practices. We have ongoing work assessing the security of surface modes of  transportation, and will report on our results later this year. Our work  assessing DHS’s efforts in implementing its strategy for securing surface  transportation modes is being conducted as part of our ongoing reviews of  mass transit, passenger and freight rail, commercial vehicle, and highway  infrastructure security. Threat, Vulnerability, and Criticality Assessments

TSA has taken actions to assess risk by conducting threat, criticality, and  vulnerability assessments of surface transportation assets, particularly for  mass transit, passenger rail, and freight rail, but its efforts related to  commercial vehicles and highway infrastructure are in the early stages. However,  TSA has not yet developed or issued security standards for all surface  transportation modes, such as commercial vehicle and highway  infrastructure, or determined whether standards are necessary for these  modes of transportation. Conclusions

DHS and TSA have undertaken numerous initiatives to strengthen the  security of the nation’s transportation system, and should be commended  for these efforts. Regarding commercial aviation, TSA has developed  processes to more efficiently allocate and deploy the TSO workforce,  strengthened screening procedures, is working to develop and deploy  more effective screening technologies, strengthened the security of air  cargo, and improved the development of a program to prescreen  passengers against terrorist watch-lists. Further, TSA has more recently  taken actions in a number of areas to help secure surface modes of  transportation.
Why GAO Did This Study

Since its inception, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has focused much of its efforts on aviation security, and has developed and implemented a variety of programs and procedures to secure commercial aviation. More recently, TSA has taken actions to secure the nation's surface transportation modes. TSA funding for aviation security has totaled about $26 billion since fiscal year 2004, and for surface transportation security activities, about $175 million since fiscal year 2005. This testimony focuses on TSA's efforts to secure the commercial aviation system-- through passenger screening, air cargo, and watch-list matching programs--and the nation's surface transportation modes. It also addresses challenges remaining in these areas. GAO's comments are based on GAO products issued from February 2004 through April 2008 including selected updates obtained in February through April 2008.

What GAO Found

DHS and TSA have undertaken numerous initiatives to strengthen the security of the nation's transportation system, including actions to address many recommendations made by GAO. With respect to aviation security, TSA has focused its efforts on, among other things, more efficiently allocating, deploying, and managing the Transportation Security Officer (TSO) workforce--formerly known as screeners; strengthening screening procedures; developing and deploying more effective and efficient screening technologies; strengthening domestic air cargo security; and developing a government operated watch-list matching program, known as Secure Flight. For example, in response to GAO's recommendation, TSA developed a plan to periodically review assumptions in its Staffing Allocation Model, and took steps to strengthen its evaluation of proposed procedural changes. TSA has also explored new passenger checkpoint screening technologies to better detect explosives and other threats, and has taken steps to strengthen air cargo security, including conducting compliance inspections of air carriers. Finally, TSA has instilled more discipline and rigor into Secure Flight's systems development, including preparing key documentation and strengthening privacy protections. With regard to surface transportation security, TSA has, among other things, taken steps to develop a strategic approach for securing mass transit, passenger and freight rail, commercial vehicles, and highways; established security standards for certain transportation modes; and conducted threat, criticality, and vulnerability assessments of surface transportation assets, particularly related to passenger and freight rail. While these efforts should be commended, GAO has identified several areas that should be addressed to further strengthen transportation security. For example, TSA has made limited progress in developing and deploying checkpoint technologies due to planning and management challenges. In addition, TSA has not revised screening exemptions for air cargo transported into the United States that may leave the air cargo system unacceptably vulnerable. GAO further identified that TSA experienced some program management challenges in the development of Secure Flight, including developing cost and schedule estimates consistent with best practices; fully implementing the program's risk management plan; developing a comprehensive testing strategy; and ensuring that information security requirements are fully implemented. In addition, DHS and TSA lack performance measures to fully evaluate the effectiveness of current processes for passengers who apply for redress due to inconveniences experienced during the check-in and screening process. GAO recently made recommendations to address these issues. Additionally, although TSA has recently taken actions in a number of areas to help secure surface modes of transportation, particularly passenger and freight rail, the agency has not fully defined its role with respect to securing other transportation modes, such as commercial vehicles and highway infrastructure. We are continuing to assess TSA's efforts to secure surface modes of transportation as part of our ongoing work and will report on our results later this year.