'We must be diligent in protecting the rights of all Americans,' Paul said in a statement. Rand Paul takes aim at TSA with bill

TSA critics have their champion: Sen. Rand Paul has dropped a pair of bills that would essentially end the agency as Americans know it.

The Kentucky Republican introduced legislation that would gut the Transportation Security Administration’s government-operated screening program and establish a passenger bill of rights. One bill would require that the mostly federalized program be turned over to private screeners and allow airports — with Department of Homeland Security approval — to select companies to handle the work.


The second bill would permit travelers to opt out of pat-downs and be rescreened, allow them to call a lawyer when detained, increase the role of dogs in explosive detection, let passengers “appropriately object to mistreatment,” allow children 12 years old and younger to avoid “unnecessary pat-downs” and require the distribution of the new rights at airports.

That legislation also would let airports decide to privatize if wanted and expand TSA’s PreCheck program for trusted travelers.

“While aviation security is undoubtedly important, we must be diligent in protecting the rights of all Americans, such as their freedom from being subjected to humiliating and intrusive searches by TSA agents, especially when there is no obvious cause,” Paul said in a statement. “It is important that the rules and boundaries of our airport screening process be transparent and easily available to travelers so that proper restraints are in place on screeners. Travelers should be empowered with the knowledge necessary to protect themselves from a violation of their rights and dignity.”

The TSA did not have an immediate comment.

Paul himself said the TSA detained him earlier this year after he objected to a pat-down after setting off an imaging machine. He asked to be rescreened but was rebuffed by screeners in Nashville. Paul teased the release of the legislative package in early May atop a fundraising letter for the Campaign for Liberty.

The most recent Federal Aviation Administration bill made it easier for airports to contract with privatized screeners, but only 16 airports currently participate in the privatized program. The TSA recently approved an application for Orlando’s Sanford International Airport to enter the program.

Recently, the TSA fired or suspended dozens of workers at another Florida airport for not conducting required supplementary screening procedures, and on Friday the agency announced plans to fire seven workers related to a bribery scandal.

House Transportation Committee Chairman Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), a leading critic of the TSA, said Friday in a statement that allowing additional privatization would be a step in the right direction.

“Transitioning to private security operations under federal standards and supervision will get TSA out of the HR business and back into the security business,” Mica said. “Earlier this week, TSA granted the first application under the new reforms to allow an airport to convert to the private-federal screening model. We will bring onboard the other 400-plus U.S. airports that still operate under the Soviet-style all-federal screening model.”

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 5:20 p.m. on June 15, 2012.