Category Archives: tsa

Why Is One of My GOP Senator Trying to Help the TSA?

A portion of an legislative update email I received from Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) on December 16, 2011:

In addition, I joined Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (ID – CT), Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-ME), and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) on Wednesday in introducing legislation to provide employment protections to Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) who are called up for active military duty. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, commonly known as USERRA, guarantees that when employees in both the private and public sector, who are also members of the National Guard, reservists, or veterans, are called to active duty, they can return to their civilian jobs when their service is complete.

There is no reason that TSA should not adhere to the same guidelines under USERRA that virtually all government agencies and businesses have to follow. We owe it to our nation’s National Guard members and Reservists to ensure that their jobs are protected when they sign on to sacrifice in defense of our safety and freedoms, and this bill represents a step in that direction. Click here to learn more about the bill.

Note how he joined Demonrats, an “Independent” (who’s essentially a Demonrat), and a RINO.

Here’s what I just sent him:

Senator Burr,

Please withdraw your support for USERRA protection of the incorrectly named “TSOs”. To begin with, they are not sworn officers and shouldn’t be referred to as officers. They are screeners and they were unjustifiably renamed to officers by the TSA in 2005, regardless of the fact that they receive no law enforcement training.

Based on the fact that TSA is one of many ever expanding overreaches of government, you should instead be advocating making the TSA the most unpleasant place to work in this country. Possibly only second to the ATF.

I understand your efforts to protect veterans, but due to the egregious infringement of human and constitutional rights by this agency, it deserves derision and nothing more. It should be abolished. I’d rather take my chances with the terrorists than the completely incompetent and tyrannical TSA.

You should instead be proposing a Senate version of Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) H.R. 3608 which would prohibit TSA screeners from deceiving the public by impersonating law enforcement officers by way of their uniforms and badges.