Congressman Bartlett answers my question on TSA!!

Dear Mr. Hargadon:

Thank you for contacting my office regarding the newly enacted Transportation Security Administration (TSA) procedures for passengers at U.S. airports. I appreciate the opportunity respond.

These new TSA procedures include arguably invasive pat downs and x-ray scanner images. I understand many American's concerns that these procedures threaten our civil liberties and are inappropriate and embarrassing. Amendment IV of the U.S. Constitution states, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated..." There needs to be an appropriate balance between the privacy and freedoms travelers give up and the effectiveness of the security procedures. Moreover, heightened security measures must not infringe on our constitutional liberty.

I do not believe the federal government has proven to Americans' satisfactions that the new intrusive airport screening procedures are necessary to ensure safe air travel. That is why I support Congressman Darrell Issa's (CA-49), the incoming Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, call for stronger evidence that TSA, as currently organized and administered, is competent to ensure air travel security. Furthermore, I support Congressman Issa's Blueprint for Oversight of the Executive Branch. This report details how "the vast expansion of the power and reach of the Executive Branch of government under both Republican and Democratic administrations has only increased the need for vigorous, unflinching Congressional oversight."

Thank you for contacting my office. I hope you will continue to keep me informed on federal issues that are important to you. In the meantime, I encourage you to visit my Internet website http://www.house.gov/bartlett where you can sign up to receive e-mail updates regarding my legislative activity. It is a privilege to serve you in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Sincerely, Roscoe Bartlett
Member of Congress