The Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) established TSA as the federal agency with primary responsibility for securing the nation’s civil aviation system, which includes the screening of all passenger and property transported from and within the United States by commercial passenger aircraft. In accordance with ATSA, all passengers, their accessible property, and their checked baggage are screened pursuant to TSA-established procedures at the 463 airports presently regulated for security by TSA. These procedures generally provide, among other things, that passengers pass through security checkpoints where they and their identification documents, and accessible property, are checked by transportation security officers (TSO), other TSA employees, or by private-sector screeners under TSA’s Screening Partnership Program. Airport operators, however, also have direct responsibility for implementing TSA security requirements such as those relating to perimeter security and access controls, in accordance with their approved security programs and other TSA direction. TSA relies upon multiple layers of security to deter, detect, and disrupt persons posing a potential risk to aviation security. These layers include behavior detection officers (BDOs), who examine passenger behaviors and appearances to identify passengers who might pose a potential security risk at TSA-regulated airports; travel document checkers, who examine tickets, passports, and other forms of identification; TSOs responsible for screening passengers and their carry-on baggage at passenger checkpoints, using x-ray equipment, magnetometers, Advanced Imaging Technology, and other devices; random employee screening; and checked-baggage screening systems. DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and TSA have taken actions to coordinate and collaborate in their efforts to develop and deploy technologies for aviation security. For example, they entered into a 2006 memorandum of understanding for using S&T’s Transportation Security Laboratory, and they established the Capstone Integrated Product Team for Explosives Prevention in 2006 to help DHS, TSA, and the U.S. Secret Service to, among other things, identify priorities for explosives prevention. Our past work has found that technology program performance cannot be accurately assessed without valid baseline requirements established at the program start. Without the development, review, and approval of key acquisition documents, such as the mission need statement, agencies are at risk of having poorly defined requirements that can negatively affect program performance and contribute to increased costs. For example, in June 2010, we reported that over half of the 15 DHS programs we reviewed awarded contracts to initiate acquisition activities without component or department approval of documents essential to planning acquisitions, setting operational requirements, or establishing acquisition program baselines. For example, TSA’s Electronic Baggage Screening Program did not have a department-approved program baseline or program requirements, but TSA is acquiring and deploying next- generation explosive detection technology to replace legacy systems. We made a number of recommendations to help address issues related to these procurements as discussed below. DHS has generally agreed with these recommendations and, to varying degrees, has taken actions to address them. In addition, our past work has found that TSA faces challenges in identifying and meeting program requirements in a number of its programs. For example: In July 2011, we reported that TSA revised its explosive detection system (EDS) requirements to better address current threats and plans to implement these requirements in a phased approach. However, we reported that some number of the EDSs in TSA’s fleet are configured to detect explosives at the levels established in the 2005 requirements. The remaining EDSs are configured to detect explosives at 1998 levels. When TSA established the 2005 requirements, it did not have a plan with the appropriate time frames needed to deploy EDSs to meet the requirements. To help ensure that EDSs are operating most effectively, we recommended that TSA develop a plan to deploy and operate EDSs to meet the most recent requirements to ensure new and currently deployed EDSs are operated at the levels in established requirements. DHS concurred with our recommendation and has begun taking action to address them; for example, DHS reported that TSA has developed a plan to evaluate its current fleet of EDSs to determine the extent to which they comply with these requirements. However, our recommendation is intended to ensure that TSA operate all EDSs at airports at the most recent requirements. Until TSA develops a plan identifying how it will approach the upgrades for currently deployed EDSs—and the plan includes such items as estimated costs and the number of machines that can be upgraded—it will be difficult for TSA to provide reasonable assurance that its upgrade approach is feasible or cost- effective. Further, while TSA’s efforts are positive steps, it is too early to assess their effect or whether they address our recommendation. In October 2009, we reported that TSA passenger screening checkpoint technologies were delayed because TSA had not consistently communicated clear requirements for testing the technologies. We recommended that TSA evaluate whether current passenger screening procedures should be revised to require the use of appropriate screening procedures until TSA determined that existing emerging technologies meet their functional requirements in an operational environment. TSA agreed with this recommendation. However, communications issues with the business community persist. In July 2011, we reported that vendors for checked-baggage screening technology expressed concerns about the extent to which TSA communicated with the business community about the current EDS procurement. TSA agreed with our July 2011 recommendation to establish a process to communicate information regarding TSA’s EDS acquisition to EDS vendors in a timely manner and reported taking actions to address it such as soliciting more feedback from vendors through kickoff meetings, industry days, and classified discussions of program requirements. Our prior work has also shown that not resolving problems discovered during testing can sometimes lead to costly redesign and rework at a later date. Addressing such problems before moving to the acquisition phase can help agencies better manage costs. Specifically: In June 2011 we reported that S&T’s Test & Evaluation and Standards Office, responsible for overseeing test and evaluation of DHS’s major acquisition programs, reviewed or approved test and evaluation documents and plans for programs undergoing testing, and conducted independent assessments for the programs that completed operational testing. DHS senior-level officials considered the office’s assessments and input in deciding whether programs were ready to proceed to the next acquisition phase. However, the office did not consistently document its review and approval of components’ test agents—a government entity or independent contractor carrying out independent operational testing for a major acquisition. In addition, the office did not document its review of other component acquisition documents, such as those establishing programs’ operational requirements. We recommended, among other things, that S&T develop mechanisms to document its review of component acquisition documentation. DHS concurred and reported actions underway to address them. In July 2011, we reported that TSA experienced challenges in collecting explosives data on the physical and chemical properties of certain explosives needed by vendors to develop EDS detection software. These data are also needed by TSA for testing the machines to determine whether they meet established requirements prior to their procurement and deployment to airports. TSA and S&T have experienced these challenges because of problems associated with safely handling and consistently formulating some explosives. The challenges related to data collection for certain explosives have resulted in problems carrying out the EDS procurement as planned. Specifically, attempting to collect data for certain explosives while simultaneously pursuing the EDS procurement delayed the EDS acquisition schedule. We recommended that TSA develop a plan to ensure that TSA has the explosives data needed for each of the planned phases of the 2010 EDS requirements before starting the procurement process for new EDSs or upgrades included in each applicable phase. DHS stated that TSA modified its strategy for the EDS’s competitive procurement in July 2010 in response to the challenges in working with the explosives for data collection by removing the data collection from the procurement process. While TSA’s plan to separate the data collection from the procurement process is a positive step, we feel, to fully address our recommendation, a plan is needed to establish a process for ensuring that data are available before starting the procurement process for new EDSs or upgrades for each applicable phase. In July 2011, we also reported that TSA revised EDS explosives detection requirements in January 2010 to better address current threats and plans to implement these requirements in a phased approach. TSA had previously revised the EDS requirements in 2005 though it did not begin operating EDS to meet the 2005 requirements until 2009. Further, TSA deployed a number of EDSs that had the software necessary to meet the 2005 requirements, but because the software was not activated, these EDSs were still detecting explosives at levels established before TSA revised the requirements in 2005. TSA officials stated that prior to activating the software in these EDSs, they must conduct testing to compare the false-alarm rates for machines operating at one level of requirements to those operating at another level of requirements. According to TSA officials, the results of this testing would allow them to determine if additional staff are needed at airports to help resolve false alarms once the EDSs are configured to operate at a certain level of requirements. TSA officials told us that they plan to perform this testing as a part of the current EDS acquisition. In October 2009, we reported that TSA deployed explosives trace portals, a technology for detecting traces of explosives on passengers at airport checkpoints, in January 2006 even though TSA officials were aware that tests conducted during 2004 and 2005 on earlier models of the portals suggested the portals did not demonstrate reliable performance in an airport environment. TSA also lacked assurance that the portals would meet functional requirements in airports within estimated costs and the machines were more expensive to install and maintain than expected. In June 2006, TSA halted deployment of the explosives trace portals because of performance problems and high installation costs. We recommended that to the extent feasible, TSA ensure that tests are completed before deploying checkpoint screening technologies to airports.