Though we have written about the philosophical reasons for opening our transportation watchlist so that people can find out why they have been placed on the list, the process is a practical pain in the a**. Everyone seems to be passing the buck. The system needs fixin’ — now. Congress is finally getting rattled.
TSA is quick to add new restrictions and hoops to jump through in order to travel. They have recently added new ID requirements. They are adding new online visa forms for visitors to fill out prior to arrival at US customs. However, they seem awfully slow to fix any of their own mistakes.
The former top prosecutor of the Justice Department, Jim Robinson, has been on the watchlist for years — and can’t get off. Congressman John Lewis, D-Georgia, is in the same position. Now CNN’s Drew Griffin, after reporting a story that criticized the air marshals program, found himself on the secret watchlist and now gets regularly stopped when trying to fly commercially.
CNN recently aired a news story about these watchlist fiascos. In the news piece Drew Griffin notes that every time he tries to get himself off the watchlist, the Department of Homeland Security sends him to another office and that office claims they are not responsible. It seems to be a system of Catch 22.
Finally, Congress is getting irritated. When everyday Americans are stopped from flying it is considered part of the national sacrifice necessary for the elimination of the terrorist threat. But when Congressmen like John Lewis, D-Georgia, Justice Department prosecutors like Jim Robinson and news reporters like Drew Griffin are stopped regularly, something has to be done.
Hopefully, this is one Congressional investigation that might make life easier for the traveling public.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
