Guest Post: No Cameras, No Proof, No Story

This is a guest post from Mark C.

I received an email from Sen. Bob Casey of PA today in response to my objections to what the TSA is doing to air passengers. Here’s a passage from Casey’s email with a special part that caught my attention:

On June 24, 2010, Senator Robert Bennett of Utah introduced the SAFER AIR Act. This legislation would require the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that passenger information or pictures obtained through body imaging are discarded, facial features are blurred and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees are prohibited from having cameras or cell phones present while in the screen areas. This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, of which I am not a member.

Casey’s canned reply mentions some legislation that has me thinking. I have trouble believing that at voting time any bill explicitly denying a TSA agent a camera phone won’t also effectively deny the same thing to passengers. It seems too tempting for the DHS/TSA to simply mandate that all cell phones and recording devices be turned off as you reach the security checkpoint for the sake of traveler privacy. The above passage doesn’t say that, but awful legislative wording is often inserted under cover of darkness just before a vote. Weren’t we told by the Speaker herself to “pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it” regarding Obamacare?

Cell phones have provided the words and images that caught peoples’ attention and made them follow what’s really going on. I don’t believe government ever wants that kind of evidence to exist. We know the TSA turned off the scanners on Opt Out day so there would be no story. It’s quite possible that was only the short term fix. The long term fix might be to have no active recording devices at all.

Please stay vigilant. If we start hearing government and its media apologists showing concern over people who are embarrassed by being thrust into the limelight, then beware. It’s much more plausible that the TSA wants no light of where the blue gloves are being thrust. That way with any controversy it’s just the word of an official TSA agent against that of a potential terrorist.

Mark in Pittsburgh

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From: Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2010 6:34 PM
Subject: Response from Senator Casey

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the implementation of new security measures at the nation’s airports. I appreciate hearing from you about this issue.

Following the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stepped up efforts to better secure our nation’s airplanes. In doing so, major airports across the nation are or have installed body imaging machines to better detect weapons and explosives. Additionally, in the fall of 2010, TSA implemented a new policy in which those passengers who opt-out of going through the body scanners will be subjected to a full body pat down.

On June 24, 2010, Senator Robert Bennett of Utah introduced the SAFER AIR Act. This legislation would require the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that passenger information or pictures obtained through body imaging are discarded, facial features are blurred and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees are prohibited from having cameras or cell phones present while in the screen areas. This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, of which I am not a member.

I know that there is concern about the invasion of privacy as airports across the country install body imaging machines and institute pat down procedures. The TSA has stated that they have taken necessary measures – deleting the digital images after a passenger has cleared check points, placing the monitor and the observer in a separate room, and concealing passengers’ faces and private areas – to protect people’s privacy. They have also pointed to a Federal Drug Administration (FDA) study that found no health threats to passengers exposed to the body scanners. On November 17, 2010, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing to review TSA’s new passenger screening policies.

I firmly believe that any misuse of body scanners or pat downs leading to a violation of a person’s privacy rights should result in with hefty penalties levied against offending TSA officials. My highest priority is to ensure the protection of all Americans, which means dismantling and deterring terrorist networks that seek to destroy our way of life. Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, casey.senate.gov. I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.

Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator

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