U.S. airline JetBlue Airways Corporation has hired Washington, D.C. government relations firm Van Scoyoc Associates for lobbying help regarding the Transportation Security Administration’s Screening Partnership Program.
Established in 2004, the Screening Partnership Program allows commercial airports to use private screening companies that are contracted by the TSA and operate under federal oversight, as opposed to federal TSA screening agents. The program is intended to improve security protocols, customer service and efficiency, as well as cut down on passenger waiting time, which has grown palpable at many airports in recent years.
To date, fewer than two dozen commercial airports in the U.S. have opted to privatize their security personnel. Potential legal liability issues have been cited as one reason more airports have not yet adopted the program.
Republicans in Congress have long supported the SPP initiative, citing the effectiveness of private screeners to save costs and fix long lines at airports. The TSA, however, which screens about 1.8 million passengers at U.S. airports each day, had been hesitant to expand the SPP, and in 2011 attempted to block an expansion of the program. Those efforts were halted by Congress.
The TSA has also claimed that cost-benefit estimates show the program’s expenses exceed that of the TSA’s federal screening program. However, a November report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office that examined the TSA’s approach to estimating costs found that contract award prices at 13 of the airports it analyzed were between two to 19 percent less than the TSA’s estimates.
The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 made it easier for commercial airports to apply for the Screening Partnership Program.
The JetBlue account will be lead by Van Scoyoc vice president Steven Palmer, who was formerly assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Transportation; David Haines, former legislative assistant to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX); and Channon Hanna, former director of government and political affairs for Airports Council International, North America and legislative assistant to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
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