TSA’s aviation security mission includes  strengthening the security of airport perimeters and restricted airport  areas; hiring and training a screening workforce; prescreening passengers  against terrorist watch lists; and screening passengers, baggage, and cargo  at the over 400 commercial airports nationwide, among other  responsibilities. TSA shares responsibility for securing surface transportation modes with  federal, state, and local governments and the private sector. DHS Has Made Progress in Securing the Nation’s Aviation and Surface Transportation Systems, but More Work Remains

DHS, primarily through TSA, has undertaken numerous initiatives to  strengthen the security of the nation’s aviation and surface transportation  systems. However, as we reported in June 2004, the agency  can further strengthen its efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of security- related technologies and reduce the risks posed by airport employees,  among other things. However, TSA has not  developed a plan to guide and support individual airports and the  commercial airport system as a whole with respect to future technology  enhancements for perimeter security and access controls. TSA also established numerous programs to train and  test the performance of its screening workforce. Over the past several years, TSA has faced a  number of challenges in developing and implementing an advanced  prescreening system, known as Secure Flight, which will allow TSA to  assume responsibility from air carriers for comparing domestic passenger  information against the No Fly List and Selectee List. With regard to  checkpoint screening technologies, TSA and S&T have researched,  developed, tested, and initiated procurements of various technologies to  address security vulnerabilities that may be exploited; however, limited  progress has been made in fielding emerging technologies. 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. 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. TSA has taken actions to develop and  issue security standards for mass transit, passenger rail, and freight rail  transportation modes. 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. TSA has hired and deployed surface  transportation security inspectors who conduct compliance inspections  for both passenger and freight rail modes of transportation; however,  questions exist regarding how TSA will employ the inspectors to enforce  new regulations proposed in its December 2006 Notice of Proposed  Rulemaking and regulations to be developed in accordance with the  Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act. We have made numerous  recommendations to DHS and its components, including TSA, to  strengthen these efforts, and the department has made progress in  implementing some of these recommendations. For  example, with regard to TSA’s efforts to secure air cargo, we reported in  October 2005 and April 2007 that TSA completed an Air Cargo Strategic  Plan in November 2003 that outlined a threat-based risk-management  approach to securing the nation’s domestic air cargo system, and that this  plan identified strategic objectives and priority actions for enhancing air  cargo security based on risk, cost, and deadlines. In addition to providing federal leadership with respect to homeland  security, DHS also plays a large role in coordinating the activities of key  stakeholders, but has faced challenges in this regard. Concluding Observations

The magnitude of DHS’s and TSA’s responsibilities in securing the nation’s  transportation system is significant, and we commend the department on  the work it has done and is currently doing to secure this network.
Why GAO Did This Study

Within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) mission is to protect the nation's transportation network. Since its inception in 2001, TSA has developed and implemented a variety of programs and procedures to secure commercial aviation and surface modes of transportation. Other DHS components, federal agencies, state and local governments, and the private sector also play a role in transportation security. GAO has examined (1) the progress TSA and other DHS components have made in securing the nation's aviation and surface transportation systems, and the challenges that remain, and (2) crosscutting issues that have impeded TSA's efforts in strengthening security. This testimony is based on GAO reports and testimonies issued from February 2004 to February 2008 and ongoing work regarding the security of the nation's aviation and surface transportation systems, as well as selected updates to this work conducted in April 2008. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed documents related to TSA security efforts and interviewed TSA and transportation industry officials.

What GAO Found

DHS, primarily through TSA, has made progress in securing the aviation and surface transportation networks, but more work remains. With regard to commercial aviation, TSA has undertaken efforts to strengthen airport security; hire, train, and measure the performance of it screening workforce; prescreen passengers against terrorist watch lists; and screen passengers, baggage, and cargo. With regard to surface transportation modes, TSA has taken steps to develop a strategic approach for securing mass transit, passenger and freight rail, commercial vehicles, and highways; establish security standards for certain transportation modes; and conduct threat, criticality, and vulnerability assessments of surface transportation assets, particularly passenger and freight rail. TSA also hired and deployed compliance inspectors and conducted inspections of passenger and freight rail systems. While these efforts have helped to strengthen the security of the transportation network, DHS and TSA still face a number of key challenges in further securing these systems. For example, regarding commercial aviation, although TSA has made significant progress in its development of an advanced passenger prescreening system, known as Secure Flight, challenges remain, including unreliable program cost and schedule estimates, among other things. In addition, TSA's efforts to enhance perimeter security at airports may not be sufficient to provide for effective security. For example, TSA has initiated efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of security-related technologies, such as biometric identification systems, but has not developed a plan for guiding airports with respect to future technology enhancements. While TSA is pursuing the procurement of several checkpoint technologies to address key existing vulnerabilities, it has not deployed technologies on a wide-scale basis, and has not yet developed and implemented technologies needed to screen air cargo. Further, TSA's efforts to develop security standards for surface transportation modes have been limited to passenger and freight rail, and TSA has not determined what its regulatory role will be with respect to commercial vehicles or highway infrastructure. A number of crosscutting issues have impeded DHS's and TSA's efforts to secure the transportation network, including the need to strengthen strategic planning and performance measurement, and more fully adopt and apply risk-based principles in the pursuit of its security initiatives.