ATSA established TSA and charged it with responsibility for securing all modes of transportation, including civil aviation. Prior to ATSA and the establishment of TSA, passenger and baggage screening had generally been performed by private screening companies under contract to airlines and in accordance with FAA regulations. In accordance with ATSA, TSA currently employs personnel who screen passengers at the vast majority of TSA-regulated (also referred to as commercial) airports nationwide. On November 19, 2002, pursuant to ATSA, TSA began a 2-year pilot program at 5 airports using private screening companies to screen passengers and checked baggage. In 2004, at the completion of the pilot program, and in accordance with ATSA, TSA established a permanent program known as the Screening Partnership Program whereby any airport authority, whether involved in the pilot or not, could request a transition from federal screeners to private, contracted screeners. Each of the 5 pilot airports applied and was approved to continue as part of the SPP, and since its establishment, 20 additional airport applications have been accepted by the SPP. Once an airport is approved for SPP participation and a private screening contractor has been selected, the contract screening workforce assumes responsibility for screening passengers and their property and must adhere to the same security regulations, standard operating procedures, and other TSA security requirements followed by federal screeners at commercial airports. TSA’s SPP PMO, located within TSA’s Office of Security Operations (OSO), coordinates with local TSA officials to support an airport’s transition from federal to private screening operations and supports the day-to-day management of the SPP. The PMO facilitates the SPP application process by reviewing SPP applications, organizing SPP application review meetings with other relevant TSA offices, and preparing and routing relevant application documentation to these offices and the TSA Administrator. Along with the TSA Office of Acquisition, the office plays a significant role in contract oversight and administration, as well as actively participates in contract source selection processes. TSA’s FSDs provide day-to-day operational direction for security operations at the airports within their jurisdiction, including those participating in the SPP. However, FSD management responsibilities differ at airports using federal versus private screeners. For example, at airports with a federal workforce, the FSD directly supervises and controls the screening workforce. However, at SPP airports, the FSD has responsibility for overall security but does not have direct control over workforce management; rather the SPP contractor is contractually obligated to effectively and efficiently manage its screening workforce. The SPP contractor’s responsibilities include recruiting, assessing, and training screening personnel to provide security screening functions in accordance with TSA regulations, policies, and procedures. SPP contractors are also expected to take operational direction from TSA, through the FSDs, to help ensure they meet the terms and conditions of the contract. In addition, SPP contractors are rewarded for identifying and proposing ideas that TSA accepts for possible innovations in recruiting, training, and security procedures, such as the practice of conducting pre- hire orientations to inform prospective screener candidates of the position requirements, which is 1 of over 200 ideas submitted to TSA by SPP contractors to date. In March 2012, TSA revised the SPP application to reflect requirements Among other of the FAA Modernization Act enacted in February 2012.provisions, the act provides that Not later than 120 days after the date of receipt of an SPP application submitted by an airport operator, the TSA Administrator must approve or deny the application. The TSA Administrator shall approve an application if approval would not (1) compromise security, (2) detrimentally affect the cost-efficiency of the screening of passengers or property at the airport, or (3) detrimentally affect the effectiveness of the screening of passengers or property at the airport. The airport operator shall include as part of its application submission a recommendation as to which private screening company would best serve the security screening and passenger needs of the airport. Within 60 days of a denial TSA must provide the airport operator, as well as the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the U.S. House of Representatives, a written report that sets forth the findings that served as the basis of the denial, the results of any cost or security analysis conducted in considering the application, and recommendations on how the airport operator can address the reasons for denial. All commercial airports are eligible to apply to the SPP. To apply, an airport operator must complete the SPP application and submit it to the SPP PMO, as well as to the airport FSD, by mail, fax, or e-mail. As required by the FAA Modernization Act, not later than 120 days after the application is received by TSA, the Administrator must make a final decision on the application. Figure 1 illustrates the SPP application process. Although TSA provides all airports with the opportunity to apply for participation in the SPP, authority to approve or deny the application resides in the discretion of the TSA Administrator. According to TSA officials, in addition to the cost-efficiency and effectiveness considerations mandated by FAA Modernization Act, there are many other factors that are weighed in considering an airport’s application for SPP participation. For example, the potential impact on the workload of the Office of Information Technology and the potential impact of any upcoming projects at the airport are considered. SPP PMO officials said that by considering all relevant factors, they do not expect to identify a specific piece of information that would definitively deny an application’s approval based on the standards in the FAA Modernization Act. However, in doing so, they hope to ensure that the Administrator has the complete picture and could therefore make a decision using all factors in combination, consistent with the FAA Modernization Act. Nonetheless, factors found to be cost-prohibitive are likely to result in the airport being denied participation in the program. In May 2007, TSA awarded a contract to Catapult Consultants to conduct a cost and performance analysis of airports with private screeners versus This analysis would be used to assist airports with federal screeners.senior TSA leadership with strategic decisions regarding the degree to which TSA should leverage public/private partnerships in the area of screening services. According to the December 2007 report the contractor issued on its analysis, SPP airports performed at a level equal to or better than non-SPP airports for the four performance measures included in the analysis. Following this study, in February 2008, TSA issued a report on a study TSA conducted comparing the cost and performance of screening at SPP and non-SPP airports. The study compared performance measures at each of six SPP airports to the non- SPP airports in the same airport category and found that SPP airports generally performed consistently with non-SPP airports in their category for the performance measures included in its analysis. Since the inception of the SPP in 2004, 29 airports have applied for participation in the program; 25 airports have been approved, and as we noted earlier in this report, 16 airports are participating in the SPP as of October 2012. A detailed timeline and status of each airport application are provided in figure 2 and appendix II. Nine airports were approved but are not currently participating in the program because they are either (1) in the process of having an SPP contractor procured, (2) were once part of the SPP but ceased screening services when commercial airline service placing the airport under TSA regulation was discontinued, or (3) never transitioned to the SPP because commercial airline service bringing the airport under TSA regulation to these airports was discontinued before private screening services began. Specifically, 6 airports—West Yellowstone Airport, Montana; Orlando Sanford International Airport, Florida; Glacier Park International Airport, Montana; Sacramento International Airport, California; Bert Mooney Airport, Montana; and Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, Montana—have been approved but are not yet currently participating in the SPP pending TSA’s selection of the screening contractor to provide services at each airport. Two airports—the East 34th Street Heliport, New York, and Gallup Municipal Airport, New Mexico were participating in the SPP, but according to TSA officials, the air carriers servicing these airports discontinued service after the contract was awarded, and thus these airports no longer required TSA screening services. Additionally, Florida Keys Marathon Airport, Florida, was approved for participation in the SPP, but the air carrier servicing the airport discontinued services prior to the start of the screening contract, and accordingly screening services were no longer required. TSA denied applications from 6 airports—submitted from March 2009 through December 2011. Five of these applications were submitted to TSA before the Administrator announced in January 2011 that the agency would not expand the SPP beyond the then current 16 airports “unless a clear and substantial advantage to do so emerges in the future.” The sixth application was submitted for consideration approximately 1 week after the Administrator’s announcement. Prior to the enactment of the FAA Modernization Act in February 2012, 1 of the 6 airports whose application TSA denied re-applied under TSA’s “clear and substantial advantage” standard and was approved. Following enactment of the FAA Modernization Act, which provided that TSA shall approve an application if approval would not compromise security or detrimentally affect the cost- efficiency or the effectiveness of the screening of passengers or property at the airport, TSA approved the applications of 3 other airports who reapplied. Two of the 6 airports that had been denied never reapplied for participation in the SPP (see fig. 2 for additional details). Figure 3 and appendix III show the locations of the 16 airports currently participating in the SPP as well as the 6 airports that TSA recently approved for participation. Directions: Place mouse over each symbol for airport category and SPP status N.Dak. Minn. S.Dak. Wisc.