Senate Bill Would Mandate TSA Involvement in Surface Transportation Security

[tac]

Senate Bill Would Mandate TSA Involvement in Surface Transportation Security
Written by  Warren Mass

On September 21 (two days after bombs were found near a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey), Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced S. 3379, the "Surface Transportation and Maritime Security Act," which would establish within the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) the "Surface Transportation and Maritime Security Advisory Committee."

Thune was joined in introducing this legislation by cosponsors Bill Nelson (D-Neb.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)

While the stated purpose of S. 3379 is "to improve surface transportation and maritime security," veteran travelers who have endured the arduous (and often intrusive) TSA inspections going through airport security for the past 15 years will be dismayed to learn that the bill proposes to extend the practices employed by the TSA to "mass transit, passenger rail networks, and public areas of other transportation systems." Getting more into specifics, the bill states:

Rail Security Services. — The Comptroller General shall conduct a study of rail security provided by the Transportation Security Administration to rail carrier and mass transit systems.

And the legislation goes on to mandate more TSA procedures to be used by Amtrak:

SEC. 15. PASSENGER RAIL VETTING.

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/congress/item/24155-senate-bill-would-mandate-tsa-involvement-in-surface-transportation-security



What could go wrong! 

[quiller]

Just an incremental roll-out going on here. Pass the REAL I.D. Act to get the whole thing rolling. Introduce RFID-chipped I.D. cards embedded within drivers licenses. NEVER tell what's on the chip or what to do if data is wrong.

Then skin-search everybody at airports. Show in detail how little you care if anyone objects. You're TSA. The group nobody in their right minds would hire, except the feds actually did. Get everybody numbed to the search-idea.

Oh yeah. Those data collectors passing as cellphone towers? Don't worry a bit. Just our friendly government, who mistrust us almost as much as we do them.