ATLANTA — A Georgia Congressman this week said he accepted an offer from the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to “sit down and go through TSA’s books.”
U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., has been a harsh critic of the federal agency, saying last month the “agency as a whole has been a colossal disappointment.”
In response to critics, Pistole told Bloomberg News: “Those who say that we’re inefficient or bloated — I’d be glad to sit down and go through the books and say, ‘OK, how would you staff this differently?”
That was good enough for Broun who responded with a letter accepting the offer.
“I hope that Administrator Pistole makes good on his word and does in fact sit down to hear me out,” Broun said in a news release. “Over the past ten years, the TSA has spent almost $57 billion and grown to nearly 65,000 employees. As a result, the government has had to dedicate too much time and money toward managing personnel and human resources, rather than using their funding to fight terrorism and enforce security measures.
Added Broun: “Administrator Pistole has even admitted that there is room for downsizing, so I look forward to working together to make the TSA more efficient and effective while protecting the taxpayer’s dollars and most importantly, their safety.”
