"Airport scanner companies hiring former federal workers; 8 in 10 of their lobbyists worked for government" by Dan Eggen, Washington Post / December 26, 2010
WASHINGTON — The companies that build futuristic airport scanners take a more old-fashioned approach when it comes to pushing their business interests in Washington: hiring dozens of former lawmakers, congressional aides, and federal employees as their lobbyists.
About 8 in 10 registered lobbyists who work for scanner-technology companies previously held positions in the government or Congress, most commonly in the homeland security, aviation, or intelligence fields, according to a Washington Post review of lobbying-disclosure forms and other data.
The extent of the connections to the federal government is particularly notable given the relatively small size of the scanner industry, which is dominated by a half-dozen specialized firms with heavy investments in airport- and border-security technology. Among Washington lobbyists as a whole, about 1 in 3 has previously worked in government, according to the Center for Responsive Politics research group.
Many of the scanner companies are also on pace to spend record amounts of money for lobbying this year on Capitol Hill, where they see potential problems as some lawmakers push for limits on airport security practices.
Top scanner firms have reported spending more than $6 million on lobbying this year, records show; that doesn’t include industrial leaders such as General Electric, which also dabbles in scanning technology and has spent more than $32 million on lobbying this year.
The stepped-up lobbying efforts by the industry come amid growing rancor on Capitol Hill over the Transportation Security Administration’s use of airport full-body scanners, which are undergoing their first widespread deployment during the holiday travel season.
The devices have come under fire from privacy and civil liberties advocates as ineffective and overly invasive because they generate revealing images of passengers.
The agency has purchased nearly 500 of the cutting-edge scanners — at $200,000 or more each — and plans to buy thousands more, meaning any restrictions would pose a major threat to the industry’s bottom line....
The House stunned the industry last year by overwhelmingly approving a bill by Representative Jason Chaffetz, Republican of Utah, forbidding the TSA from using body scanners as primary passenger-screening tools at airports.
The vote prompted a frantic scramble by scanner lobbyists to halt the measure in the Senate, according to legislative aides and others familiar with the battle. The effort was bolstered by the failed “underwear bomber’’ plot, which hastened calls for increased scanner use, last December.
HMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!
CUI BONO!!!??
The industry took a creative approach to selling the controversial technology on Capitol Hill.
One of the largest suppliers of scanners to the TSA, L-3 Communications of New York, rolled the equipment onto Capitol Hill this year to show lawmakers and legislative aides how the machines work.
The chief lobbyist for another company, California-based Rapiscan Systems, had a body scanner installed in his Crystal City, Va., office for demonstrations.
Then why won't Napolitano walk through one?
Chaffetz, who has been named incoming chairman of a House homeland-defense subcommittee, said in an interview that the underwear plot undoubtedly helped stall his proposal in the Senate.
Again, CUI BONO?
“On Capitol Hill, nobody wants to be seen as soft on terror,’’ he said.
But the Utah lawmaker, who was first elected to the House in 2008, also said he has been surprised by the strength of the scanner lobby in influencing the views of his legislative colleagues.
Chaffetz said he expects continued industry opposition to his antiscanner legislation, which he plans to reintroduce in the new Congress.
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"Traveler outrage leads airports to take look at private security" by Derek Kravitz, Washington Post / January 2, 2011
WASHINGTON — The differences between private firms’ employees and federal workers are often imperceptible to the everyday traveler....
Procedures do not change....
Their employees are required by law to undergo the same training, use the same pat-down techniques, and operate the same equipment — such as full-body scanners — that the TSA does.
With a reduced role, the TSA could become more of a regulatory agency, leaving much of the daily work on the ground to for-profit companies....
Many security and airline industry officials said the switch to a network of private screeners could hinder much of the government’s progress since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Robert Mann, an industry analyst and former airline executive in New York, said airports considering a switch are simply responding to “consumer outrage.’’
“We can’t go back to the late ‘90s, when private screeners had McDonald’s-level wages and attention spans to match,’’ Mann said. “A uniform, tough government system makes a lot of sense.’’
In a fascist nation.
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Also see: Americans Feeling the Touch of Fascism When Flying
