The "silver lining" of revelations that the TSA failed to detect phony explosives and firearms more than 95 percent of the time during internal tests at some of the country’s busiest airports is that the results are "so shocking, it's going to require immediate action," according to Indiana Sen. Dan Coats,
The Hill reports.
"This is got to be a top-to-bottom effort looking at the trainers, how we hire them, how we train them, how they perform their jobs, looking at the equipment that’s supposed to detect a lot of this stuff," Coats said Tuesday on "America’s Newsroom" on Fox News.
"Bring the CEOs in who make this equipment and say, 'Hey what’s happening here?' This has to be an all-hands-on-deck effort address this issue."
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NBC News reported Monday night that Homeland Security agents posing as passengers were able get weapons past TSA agents in 67 out of 70 tests.
Acting TSA Administrator Melvin Carraway has been taken off the job and reassigned to a DHS program coordinating with local law enforcement agencies.
Carraway’s tenure as TSA’s acting administrator was short-lived, according to NBC, which noted that the 11-year agency veteran rose to the top spot in January.
President Barack Obama in April nominated Coast Guard Vice Adm. Peter Neffenger to fill the post on a permanent basis, but Neffenger is awaiting Senate confirmation.
Coats, a Republican who serves on the Senate Finance, Select Intelligence and Joint Economic committees, pointed out on Fox News that it's ironic that the TSA's ineptitude is revealed at the same time lawmakers are debating key provisions of the Patriot Act, legislation Coats said has "helped us detect terrorist threats."
He stressed that Americans need to be vigilant and support "legal measures" to keep America safe from threats from abroad.
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