Watchdog slams TSA: 'Layers of security simply missing'

By Pete Kasperowicz, Pete Kasperowicz

Published December 20, 2015

A government watchdog for the Transportation Security Agency told Congress on Tuesday that TSA has once again failed a round of secret tests of airport security.

Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General John Roth admitted to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he has been harsh before on the TSA's ability to run a competent security operation. But he said the TSA had not made any real improvements in the latest round of testing in September.

"While I cannot talk about the specifics in this setting, I am able to say ... that the test results were disappointing and troubling," Roth said in his prepared remarks.

"The failures included failures in the technology, failures in TSA procedures and human error," he said. "We found layers of security simply missing. It would be misleading to minimize the rigor of our testing, or to imply that our testing was not an accurate reflection of the effectiveness of the totality of aviation security."