Committee presses TSA on FY2026 ‘skinny’ budget, labor changes and screening technology rollout

Acting Administrator McNeil testified before the House Appropriations subcommittee to answer lawmakers’ questions about the Transportation Security Administration’s proposed fiscal year 2026 “skinny” budget, recent administrative changes affecting Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) and the agency’s plan to deploy new checkpoint technology.

Ranking Member Underwood told the subcommittee that the administration’s decision to rescind the collective bargaining agreement affecting “nearly 50,000 TSOs, including about 2,500 in Illinois,” had been announced with “no data on savings or benefits” and warned the move could hurt morale and operational consistency. She said TSOs “need less stress at work, not more” and urged the agency to provide a substantive justification for the change.

McNeil responded that the rescission and the staffing adjustments were made with security considerations in mind and said they had “returned hours to the security checkpoint,” adding that the change freed “over 200 TSOs” worth of hours for checkpoint duties. McNeil also said the staffing reductions tied to the skinny budget “represents, between 34%, of the…