ms. watson coleman, you are recognized for questions. rep. watson coleman: ms.cogswell, how are you today? good. ms. barragan just ask you about the working groups. to the working groups consist of the union members as well? when was it constituted? ms. cogswell: it started in the spring and went after the shutdown and went through the full meeting through the end of august. so thetson coleman: report you are going to report on, is that consensus between the union and the agency with regard to these tsrs?-- tso's? ms. cogswell: yes. rep. watson coleman: we are really excited to see that. the short-term deployment force when there is a seasonal or is set to ensure that there is adequate screening resources. it was codified in section 1988 ,f the tsa modernization act actually based on my bill, the tsa national deployment force act. the ndf was deployed last year to airports like seattle and denver, where tsa did not meet its hiring goals, and airports in hawaii, where tsa has a difficult time attracting candidates. what steps are you taking to higher permanent ts

ms. watson-coleman and mr. catko for their leadership in advancing legislation last congress that i'm glad to carry on those efforts with ranking member lesko in this congress. tsa modernization act enhances and improves our nation's transportation security. the act is too comprehensive to describe in detail in a few minutes that we have, but i'd like to highlight a few key points. first, the act established a five-year term for this tsa administrator to provide stability to the agency's leadership. and sadly, the current chaos and leadership vacancies within dhs have undermined those efforts. add strait er has been forced t wear two hats acting as both tsa administrator and dhs deputy secretary. i commend the administrator for answering the call to duty, but the role of tsa administrator is a full-time job that requires full-time dedication to ensuring the security of our transportation system. i hope the president will nominate permanent leaders to fill many of the dhs vacancies and thus provide tsa with a st

ms. watson-coleman. you, mr. chairman. thank you, gentlemen, for your testimony. it is a really important issue us. we want to be safe and secure but we also want to recognize privacy privacy is our and we have guarantees under the constitution and that we're not way infringing upon that. mr. wagner, i'd like to ask you a question. i understand the department has sent an interim final report to would expand c.b.p.'s collection of biometric data, something we've obviously expressed tremendous interest in. the committee is eager to learn whatch as possible about you intend with this rule and why you haven't pursued a more transparent and deliberative process. what does this interim final entail? how does it address c.b.p.'s collection of biometric data on u.s. citizens? and why did you choose this closed process rather than providing notice and allowing public comment? ofthere's several pieces rule makings under way. there is an interim final rule and isdrafted circulating through the government for comment. proposedlso notice of rule makings on other parts of what

i thank my colleagues, miss watson coleman and ms and mrs katko the tsa modernization act improves our nations transportation security. it's a government to describe now, but i'd like to highlight a few key point. it established a five-year term for this tsa administrator to provide stability, to the agency's leadership. and, sadly, the current chaos and leadership vacancies within have undermined those efforts. administrator, has been forced to wear two hats. acting as dhs deputy secretary, and transportation administrator. i commend him for answering the call of duty, but the role of tsa administrator is a full-time job that requires full-time dedication to ensuring the security of our transportation system. i hope the president will nominate perpetrators to fill many of the dhs vacancies, and does provide tsa with a stable leadership that congress envisioned when it passed this legislation. in addition to establishing the administrators term, the tsa modernization act first pushes tsa to enhance its strategic planning efforts, number two, to secure public areas of airport aspiration