07.21.14

Congress is NOT in session today.

It is a happy Monday indeed for us here at Countable. Last week we launched our iOS app to amazing critical reception and press. Nearly tripling our user base, over 115,000 messages have been generated to Congress- something we could not have done without you. So give yourself a big pat on the back from us.

Here’s an interesting bill you should know about.

HR4803 deals with your favorite government agency, the TSA. OK, it is hardly anyone’s favorite organization, and many will argue whether or not the TSA actually makes a big difference, but the reality is that real human beings work these jobs and are tasked with keeping our airports and airplanes safe for the rest of us to use.

This bill proposes spending cuts of $17 million of a 5 year span primarily coming from the paychecks of high wage TSA investigators.

Federal law requires that for law enforcement officers to qualify for "premium pay" as criminal investigators, the officers must, in general, spend on average at least 50 percent of their time investigating, apprehending, or detaining individuals suspected or convicted of a crime.

TSA criminal investigators who receive premium pay earn, on average, $161,794 per year. A 2010/2011 report found that in 75% of their cases, these investigators either monitored other agencies’ investigations or investigated internal misconduct.

It’s also interesting to note that another bill, HR4802, deals with the opposite goal of bolstering TSA staff at airports, named after the TSA agent who was killed in the LAX shooting incident last year, Gerardo Hernadez.

Is 50% a fair ask or is the job too complicated to quantify in percentages? Let your representative know how to vote on Countable!

Let us know in the comments-What do you think?