tsa spent millions. looking at the hearing agenda on the committee's website, it mentions the most important part of why we are here, the toll management has taken. my opening statement scratches the surface. if you do not learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it. the reality is, our leadership changes when there's a change of administration. if that happens and if these issues continue to go unaddressed, the people who damage the agency will be off the leash and what progress we have made will have been in vain. we need this committee to take a look at the road ahead and ensure it never happens again. i hope i can answer your questions based on my experiences. that concludes my opening statement. >> thank you. >> i'm very pleased, mr. chairman, mr. livingston is a resident of columbia, maryland. this is an area that is shared between my district and the district representing by my distinguished congressman. mr. livingson is a constituent and he's written a letter to the committee to express his s

neffenger: tsa does. we have our aviation inspector cadre and they make regular rounds to gauge of these locations to ensure that they are complying with standards. senator mccaskill: i would love to see the schedule. i know if you had a repair station in the united states, there was an faa person almost on-site. when i did this hearing before , most of this was being done by phone. they were not physically going to the facilities. so if that has changed i would be really thrilled to hear that. i would love to know how often we are inspecting and i would like to know -- at the point in time we looked at this before there was no effort made on perimeter security at these facilities in these other countries. americans are upset about jobs going overseas. i understand this is a global economy and we can't put a gun to companies heads and say you must keep jobs in america. on the other hand, if we have certain standards for safety and security for our flying public and the responsibility lies with your agency

you can't do that just as tsa. you've got to get the airports -- >> yes, sir. >> -- to do that, and that's the report that we want to know in our oversight capacity. >> yes, sir. >> how many airports of the 300 following the lead of miami, which did it ten years ago, have done this to watch so that something like egypt and the russian airliner doesn't happen here. thank you, mr. chair. >> thank you, senator nelson. i couldn't agree more. i think it points out the need for senate bill 2361 which i hope we can move. but as you can tell, this is an issue that we screen passengers getting on planes, but there are so many examples now of airport workers with badges that are committing criminal acts and this is an area that i think we've just got to shore up. so thank you, senator nelson. senator aayotte? >> thank you, chairman. i want to add i hope with the if, aa reauthorization on the floor that we will get the airport security enhancement and oversight act perhaps added to that, because i think it makes a lot of sens

the tsa spent millions. in looking at the agenda, it mentions what i believe to be the most important part of why we are here. the toll that management challenges have taken on. my opening statement only scratches the surface. as the saying goes, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. if they are looking forward to a brighter future, our leadership change when is there is a change of administration. if that happens and if the issues condition to go unaddressed, the people who damaged this agency will be off the leash and what progress we have made will have been in vain. we need this committee to take a serious look at the road ahead and ensure this never happens again. i will answer your questions and provide insight based on my experiences. thank you for having me. that concludes my opening statement. >> i'm very pleased that mr. livingston is a resident of columbia. this is an area that is shared between my district and the district representing by my colleague. mr. livingston is a c

not all tsa folks but even with tsa they haven't screened some of those people. the miami and orlando and there's one more airport where they're screening the workers. that's a waste of money. that's not the way you do it. they check them. and they can go through as you know and once they're into the secure -- they have hammer, they have knife, they have all kinds of things that are not allowed and they have chemicals and everything else. plus they have access to the aircraft which could -- they could do a lot of damage to. so we waste money. that's congressionally imposed, some of that, where it could be better spent. would you agree with that? >> yes, sir. >> yes, sir. >> absolutely. >> let me just say one thing too. i'm glad that some of the union folks came. i'm a republican when i wrote the bill i made certain that the tsa and tsos had the ability to belong to a union. i strongly believe in that right of every american worker. i don't think anyone should be forced to join a union on the other hand. but we put that in the provision. the five -- of the 2350i6

neffenger: tsa does. we have our aviation inspector regulard they make rounds to gauge of these locations to ensure that they are complying with standards. senator mccaskill: i would love to see the schedule. i know if you had a repair station in the united states, there was an faa person almost on-site. when i did this hearing before most of this was being done by phone. they were not physically going to the facilities. so if that has changed i would be really thrilled to hear that. i would love to know how often we are inspecting and i would like to know -- at the point in time we looked at this before there was no effort made on perimeter security at these facilities in these other countries. americans are upset about jobs going overseas. i understand this is a global economy and we can't put a gun to companies heads and say you must keep jobs in america. on the other hand, if we have certain standards for safety and security for our flying public and the responsibility lies with your agency and the fa

investigation is still employed at tsa.it acceptable for those employees to lie? in conclusion, the american public and congress should care about what happens in tsa, because senior leaders are mismanaging the agencies and our effectiveness is compromised. our culture is like animal house. while the relationship between our headquarters and to the field is best rejected -- shown in the series game of euros. game of thrones. if this was a private company, the entire leadership would have been removed, long ago. i think the committee for the opportunity to appear before you and i think -- thank the congressman and -- congresswoman for her support. i think that we will always fall short in the band of excellence. we are in agency in dire need of oversight and the public deserves it. employees in tsa, they deserve leaders who value and treat them with respect. we can do better. mr. chairman, this concludes my prepared statement. i look forward to answering questions from you and other members of the committee. thank you. mr. c

you cannot do that just as tsa. you you have to get the airport to do that and that is the report that we want to know in our oversight capacity. how many airports of the 300 following the lead of miami, which did it ten years ago, have done this so that something like egypt and the russian airliner doesn't happen here. thank you. >> think senator nelson. i cannot agree more. i think it points out the need for senate bill 20 2631. which i hope we can move. as you can tell we screen passengers getting on planes but there so many examples of airport workers with badges that are committed criminal acts. this is an area that we have to shore up. >> think a chairman. i too want to add to that i hope with the faa reauthorization on the floor that we will get the airport security eight enhancement and oversight act, perhaps added to that because i think it makes a lot of sense to do that in light of some of the concerns we have in this committee and the broad support on this committee for that bill. i wanted to follow-up o

for those who haven't been through a tsa checkpoint lately you may be in for a surprise. delays are such the that the tsa is asking to you show up at least two hours ahead for a domestic flight and up to three hours for an international flight but we have learned that not even that may be enough to avoid missing your flight. a number of airports across the country passengers are finding incredibly long lines at tsa checkpoints this was the scene at lax with wait times of one, two, even three hours. >> i don't know if they don't have enough people or the people are not interested in working hard enough. >> this time lines were really long. >> reporter: not a happy camper. >> no, it is my birthday. no, i'm not at all. >> reporter: passengers are the not the only ones complaining. the spokesmen for american airlines says lines at tsa checkpoints have become unacceptable. he says almost 6800 passengers missed their flights between march 14th and 20th. he said worst airports include philadelphia international, atlanta, l.a., miami and dallas. >> i think honestly they are under

for many, the tsa is associated with patdowns and bag screenings. in the nation's capital wednesday, the agency's own baggage was the focus. >> we have low morale, a atlantic trust and field leaders who are fearful to speak out and for good reason. >> reporter: three to mid high level tsa there accusing there top brass of discrimination, burying there whistleblowers and racial profiling. one saying he reported sexual harassment, a senior leader tellinging there him this. >> if she files a complaint, it's our word against hers. i said i'm nog not going to lie. >> he said if you don't we can't work with you. >> another official alleging there bigot tritt involving is community outreach at mocks. >> my supervisor accused me of going native. it's a disgusting there bigoted term. >> describing there a tsa culture that puts security at risk. >> employees are less likely to report threat evaluate issues out of fear of retaliation. >> the tsa saying it takes seriously all allegation afc inappropriate behavior by its employees at all levels. and doesn't tole

i don't know about you, but i've gotten used to the tsa going through my clothes at the airport but on capitol hill wednesday, let me tell you, it was three tsa officials airing out the agency's own alleged dirty laundry. among the allegations, racial profiling, burying whistleblowers and a management culture that could put security at risk. >> we have low morale, a lack of trust and field lead area who are fearful to speak out and for good reason. >> if you tell the truth in tsa, you will be targeted. i call it the lord of the flies, you either attack or be attacked. >> the tsa issuing a statement saying it takes seriously all allegations of inappropriate behavior by its employees at all levels and doesn't tolerate illegal, immoral or unethical conduct. these concerns can come agmid other concerns from airlines and airports that tsa lines have just gotten too long. >> that is true definitely. we also got a sense there was quite a bit of racial profiling that is taking place out of those hearings. any particular group or minority group? >> so the group that the official who spoke to th

tsa's administrators says he may have to go ask for more bodies. kris van cleave cbs news, washington. >>> a massive 6.9 quake rattled myanmar a few hours ago and it could be felt as far as eastern india and bangladesh. residents panicked. so far no reports of any injuries or damage. >>> let's check in with brian hackney for a look at the forecast. >> all right. we have sunshine right now. that's going to be changing as we head into the evening hours. clouds will increase from the north and that will set the stage for more rain in the bay area and we'll see how much we are going to get. not bad. and mostly gone by this time tomorrow. right now with severely blue skies over san jose, the numbers are in the mid-60s. west coast, you can see the cold front on the way from a low getting closer to the canadian coastline sending out a cold front in front and as a result, showers will spread south tonight. so we are expecting nice day today plenty of sunshine. rain will arrive in the small hours of the morning as frank sinatra once put it. sunny warmer on

more of us are traveling but the government has not hired any additional tsa agents. here's abc's david kerley. >> reporter: l.a.x., long snaking security lines. spring break travel wait times across the country of one, two, even three hours. >> it's insane. i don't understand. >> reporter: not only passengers -- >> we missed our flight and we're told there's nothing they can do. >> reporter: -- airports are angry, too. a letter to tsa from charlotte, complaining of a negative economic impact of 600 missed flights. seattle announcing it will hire 90 contractors just to help the tsa officers. and the airlines? american saying nearly 6,800 passengers missed flights in one week at five airports it serves. th a record number of travelers, no additional tsa officers, terrorist attacks, and new security measures at checkpoints. is a nightmare ahead for summer travelers? >> i don't think a nightmare is ahead. but i think you can expect to see some longer wait times, simply because of the volume of people moving. >> reporter: it is likely to be a horrible summer to travel. th

we don't have consequences in tsa. entire people and the chain of command would have been released. >> we would fire them and replace them with somebody else. >> i would suggest whether it is private, whether we stay, my view is irrelevant. it requires the most essential ingredient and i work for kraft foods and marketing. intangibles,the but that is why we are all here. failures of accountability, failures of performance. >> i will cut you off. i don't want to take away, but that frustration is embodied and experienced in this committee every single day. >> your recognize. >> you are on the sheet. are you aware of examples of an investigation as you believe specifically to move in from an agency? examples? >> i know the morale survey was -- i know the investigation in miami was used as an instrument. >> what do you do if you get yourself in trouble after they go after you? >> anytime you report misconduct and tone favorite people, it goes against the favorite people. you report 35 dish you report security violations.

there are growing calls for the tsa to fix it. charlotte's airport saying they're dealing with lines up to three hours. here's nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: pick your airport, atlanta, minneapolis, newark, the tsa's security checkpoints are looking more like choke points. in some cases, security lines closed because there aren't enough screeners. among the worst in the country, seattle, waits as long as 90 minutes. >> you better be an hour and a half before your flight. because, you know, in some instances, that's barely going to get you there in time. >> reporter: the tsa only has staffing for 19 of their 32 lanes. so the airport is hiring private contractors to help load bins and guide passengers. >> the security officers will now have time to focus on screening and x-raying bags. >> reporter: mitch was waiting at newark. >> i'm really hoping i can make my flight at this point. you can see the line behind me. >> reporter: the tsa is struggling with the attrition, and understands, having underestimated the passenger volume nat

the people who runt air ports are blaming the tsa. van cleave has the story from reagan national. major concern from airlines, airports and fly ears but what the summer travel season will look like based on what they saw during the spring break rush. it cause made your backups from airports from carolina to california. and now mounting calls for the tsa to fix the problem now. extremely strong tsa lines and wait times hitting up to 90 minutes caused spring break chaos. american airlines says in just one week last month, nearly 6,800 passengers missed their flights because of those long lines. at seattle tacoma international airport, setac, the waits stretched over an hour. the director announced hiring of private contractors to help with administrative duties freeing up tsa to focus solely on screening as the airport explorz dropping the agency altogether. >> we are going to investigate what it would take to privatize, looking at other air ports that have been, that have privatized. 22 u.s. airports including san francisco and kansas

no, because-- i feel-- i feel like i'm working harder than the tsa at that point. like why, why are they even bothering to search us at all if tey miss 67 out of-- statisticically they do better an an horror sphm. they should be just be like, sir, do you have a bomb. maybe? but let's turn to a quick check in on the 2016 race. now this weekend was an impressive weekend. bernie sanders won wyoming. (cheers and applause). >> trevor: yes. yup. ted cruz won the delegates of colorado and somewhere in coral gables. oh, you guys don't-- oh, okay, okay. jeb bush won the biggest stuffed animal at skeeball, yeah. we miss you every day, jeb. and as everyone sets their sights on new york primary, one candidate is already losing votes among his own base. >> two of done all trump's own children won't be voting for their father. trump admitted today that eric and ivanka both missed the deadline to register as republicans in time to vote in the april 19th primary. >> trevor: really? you guys couldn't take five minutes to put your name on a form? all your family does is put your nam

that's the question the tsa is trying to answer. and many members of congress are not happy with what they are hearing. >> reporter: the most visible thing the tsa does, passenger screenings, but there is an increasing awareness of another potential threat coming from the people who work here. washington's dulles airport with great fanfare welcoming the first direct flight from brussels since the terror attacks. and beyond the flags and banners, there are lingering questions. u.s. transportation officials know they are still dealing with a jittery traveling public at home. >> people can attack us anywhere no matter how many we can try to protect ourselves. >> reporter: the head of the tsa was grilled by members of a senate committee looking specifically at transportation security. the basic questions not just about passenger screening methods and effectiveness, but airport perimeter security. and airport employee vetting. and that is increasingly seen as a weak spot. >> the best practices are obvious. you have to check the airport e

paul, clock an hour before tsa inspects your carry-on. >> we have very high passenger volumes. >> tsastrator -- peter neffinger. >> i do have concerns about long wait times. it gathers people up. it end up being an inconvenience for the traveler no small problem it pose a potential problem with respects stew large crowds of people. >> earlier this year the nation's busiest, alanta hartfield jackson fed up with the tsa woefully understaffed said it is considering privatizing the security screening process. >> we are working very hard to dramatically improve our ability to move people through, shifting resources to, to the highest volume airports. front loading our, our hiring to those airports. train more people than we have ever trained before. >> reporter: so how did we get here? one the number of fliers has grown substantially over the last couple years. the tsa has shifted its focus to enhanced screening at checkpoint instead of efficiency of moving people through the lines. also the number of screeners is capped by congress. administrator neffinger says the agency is hiring as fas

: three senior tsa security directors congressional committee wednesday that tsa management fosters are of intimidation and retaliation, and many are not qualified to hold the positions they hold. >> the american public and congress should worry about what's going on in tsa. >> reporte >> retaliation is used extens e extensively. >> reporter: forcing workers to arbitrarily move across country, but they voiced support for current tsa administrator peter nefenger who they say just needs better leaders around him. >>> severe weather overnight killed a woman in texas after falling trees collapsed her roof. home. today people are cleaning up after the storms. the weather damaged more than a dozen homes in the houston area and downed power lines left some people without electricity. forecasters expect more strong storms on saturday. >> take a look at this video out of missouri. major flooding swamped a golf course just outside kansas city. the heavy rain also stranded some drivers and the flooding temporarily shut down a few businesses. tom kierein join us again. any of this weather headed

now the tsa is coming under fire to do to do something about that. dann cuellar was at the airport last night to talk to passengers. >> reporter: passengers are finding incredibly long lines at tsa checkpoints with wait times as much one, two, three, hours. >>> i don't know if they have enough people or the people are not interested in working hard enough. >>> this time the line is very, very long. >> reporter: you're not a happy camper. >>> no, not at all. >> reporter: a spokesman for american airlines said the lines at tsa check points have become unacceptable. 1600 passengers missed their flights. the airports include philadelphia, l.a. and atlanta and dallas. they have seen 'decrease in hiring because of budget cuts. with summer coming on, tsa is adding 200 new screernls a week to -- screeners a week to bring them to the 45,500. they said be prepared for delays. >>> expect to see longer with a lot times. >> reporter: sign up for the fast lane, but there's a fee for that, or show up for your flight earlier than you normally would. at philadelphia

a crisis, that's how a tsa director is describing the transportation agency. hear why officials are also calling the tsa a all culture of intimidation and retaliation. >>> plus, heads up. how a potentially scary moment during a phillies game duringed harmless thanks to a new rule. >>> good morning, montgomery county. here's a live look this morning along fayette street. right now it is 46 degrees. >>> now to decision 2016. donald trump swept the republican primaries on tuesday. >> now he's gearing up for next tuesday's contest in indiana. who better to have on your side in the hoosier state than bobby knight, former indiana head basketball coach joined trump at a rally last night in indianapolis. the events followed trump's first major foreign policy speech in washington. the gop front runner blasted u.s. immigration policies. >> we must stop importing extremism through senseless immigration policies. we have no idea where these people are coming from. there's no documentation. there's no paperwork. there's nothing. >> trump also threatened to stop providing a

that sends you to tsa pre-check where tsa security agent will screen you and if you don't have pre-check -- if you don't have pre-check then you go through the regular tsa line. that's the blooper for the day. >> i heard they fondle people never fully -- wow. >> reporter: sorry guys. a misspeak early in the morning. >> cable. >> we appreciate the company. >> reese's peanuts. >> that was mine. >> we got it for the blooper reel for the end of the year. we hope you make it through the tsa line. >>> when we come back breaking economic news, weekly jobless claims. tomorrow ted cruz will join us for a very special hour of box starting at 8:00 a.m. starting tomorrow morning right here on "squawk". pretty great. (patrick 1) how about a 10% raise? (patrick 2) how about 20? (patrick 1) how about done? (patrick 2) that's the kind of control i like... ...and that's what they give me at national car rental. i can choose any car in the aisle i want- without having to ask anyone. who better to be the boss of you... (patrick 1)than me. i mean, you...us. (vo) go national. go like a pro. >>> welcome back

the best tip is sign up for tsa pre-check. that is the fast lane here at if not, show up hours early for your flight. you are likely to spend many of them in line. david? >> the pre-check does make a big difference. david kerley tonight, thank you. >>> there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this thursday. the new health warning. the popular medicine taken by millions of americans. the alert this evening about possible damage you may be doing to your kidneys. we'll have that story coming up. >>> the real money team is back tonight. if you're traveling with your family this summer by car or by plane, the simple steps that could save you a lot of money. two things we didn't know about. >>> and take a look at this. that scene right there, that's for real. the worker in the bucket, the chimp on the loose, breaking out of the zhaooo. and as you'll see, not willing to go back quietly. how this plays out, coming up. hey, jesse. who are you? i'm vern, the orange money retirement rabbit from voya. vern from voya? why are

. >> reporter: date from cbs news shows the number of tsa screeners is down 15% from 2011. airport officials around the country and locally are doing their best to accommodate. >> we know that the line may look very long but there are many lanes within the checkpoints so even though the line looks long it ma not be quaint as daunting as it appears to be. >> tsa officials and lawmakers point out the security lines are just that, to ensure security. in a statement to "eyewitness news" a spokesperson said, the agency's number one priority is keeping you safe. quote, we at tsa have row bit of plan to address the volume including more k9 use, encouraging pre check enroll many, overtime, accelerated hiring and more ". speaking of tsa pre check, new numbers show not as many people are signing up for the fast pass service. some don't want to pay. others don't know it exists. >> you have to just bear with everybody and be patient, you know. that's what it's all about. >> reporter: tsa official which is only do so much with the budget they're given from congress every year, but those

. >> reporter: date from cbs news shows the number of tsa screeners is down 15% from 2011. airport officials around the country and locally are doing their best to accommodate. >> we know that the line may look very long but there are many lanes within the checkpoints so even though the line looks long it ma not be quaint as daunting as it appears to be. >> tsa officials and lawmakers point out the security lines are just that, to ensure security. in a statement to "eyewitness news" a spokesperson said, the agency's number one priority is keeping you safe. quote, we at tsa have row bit of plan to address the volume including more k9 use, encouraging pre check enroll many, overtime, accelerated hiring and more ". speaking of tsa pre check, new numbers show not as many people are signing up for the fast pass service. some don't want to pay. others don't know it exists. >> you have to just bear with everybody and be patient, you know. that's what it's all about. >> reporter: tsa official which is only do so much with the budget they're given from congress every year, but those

. >> reporter: federal provisions installed any further tsa staffing cuts for, 2016 but atlantic city international the has scaled back work hours. without growth, tsa has struggled to call for bypass eveningers and legislators. >> the recent terror attacks and terror attack i should say in brussels was a reminder of the dangers that exist, and in fact, there have been at least 51, 51 hijacking attempts around the world since september the 11th, 2001. >> reporter: in a statement to "eyewitness news" a spokesperson says the that the agency's number one challenge is combating threats, adding in part, we at tsa have a robust plan to address volume including more k-9 use, encouraging prechechen role. , overtime accelerated hiring or more. summer brings more travelers, many who are less experienced at phl the airport is using logistics to remedy suggestion. >> depending upon what flights are leaving from which gate, try to balance the demand so that the tsa is deployed in the best possible fashion. >> reporter: for safety minded travelers, awake or even a missed flight it is a small price

the tsa has shifted focus to enhance screening.ber of screeners is actually capped pie congress. tsa administrator nefinger said he may have to go ask for more bodies. >> and of course, we know how quickly congress works. earlier this year, the busiest airport, jackson hartfield called the tsa, woefully understaffed. >> nationally, the number of tsa screeners is down 15% since 2011. >>> right now at 6:00, metro funding fight. a heated hearing on capitol hill about who should pay to fix the broken system. >> also, a new study is prompting bullying in our nagged's schools. >>> first, maryland presidential primaries is nearly two weeks away. but the battle for the state's delegates began in earnest this afternoon. thank you for staying with us. i'm jan jeffcoat. >> and i'm bruce bruce johnson. the man is running second in that state. ohio governor, john kasich. garrett haake joins us live right now second place for kasich sounds pretty good for this guy. >> reporter: second place would be good he's actually running fourth in a three-m

former tsa deputy director. it sounds like a vulnerability waiting to be exploited by isis or somebody else, tom. is it? >> that's exactly what it is. this has been a known security gap for some time. tsa screens about 1 million passengers a day but literally there are hundreds of thousands of people who come to work in airports. there are airport airline employees, mechanics, there are airport employees, concessionaire employees, caterers and on it goes. while these people are subject to background checks, neighboring parcels to their workplace whether it's lunchboxes , toolboxes, backpacks, purses and there is no inspection of those kind of things as these people come to work. this was reflected earlier this year when a conspiracy to smuggle guns was revealed at the atlanta airport involving a baggage handler and a legitimate passenger so this is a security gap and it's one that tsa, the airlines and airports should work together to close as these three forward leaning airports have already done. jon: here is

the three senior officials said tsa management fosters a culture of intimidation and retaliation and that many managers are not qualified to do their jobs. >> tsa remains in crisis as a result of poor leadership and oversight of many of our senior leadership appointments, which have taken place over the past several years. >> the american public and congress should care about what occurs in tsa because its senior leaders are security is compromised. >> they support the current tsa administrator, but they say he needs better leaders around him. >>> the loudoun gateway station will be in the median of the dulles greenway just west of route 606 which takes metro from reston to just beyond dulles airport. the silver line is expected to be operating sometime in 2018. >>> it's been one year since the uprising in baltimore began. we're going to take a look at what's changed. what may have gone even worse in the wake of the freddie gray and we just couldn't say thno to that face.ns then we wanted more of that local flavor so betty says... oh yeah, that's