CEI Responds to TSA’s Final Rule on Airport Body Scanners

Today the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued a final rule on the agency’s use of body scanners in direct response to CEI’s court victory in October 2015. The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) sued the Transportation Security Administration in July 2015 for violating the law by deploying airport body scanners before following the required rulemaking process. 

Marc Scribner, fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, offered the following response:

“The TSA finally issued its new body scanner rule after delaying for years. While the rule is accompanied by a very lengthy explanation, the agency still leaves some major issues unanswered.

“The TSA simply fails to understand the extent to which people dislike body scanners. The agency contradicts itself by arguing that body scanners do not increase passenger wait times relative to metal detectors while relying exclusively on metal detectors for its expedited screening program. The agency fails to explain what happens to people who are so put off by the TSA’s security inspections at airports due to perceived delays and privacy invasions that they drive instead of flying. Because driving is much riskier than flying, the end result is that the TSA’s procedures lead to deaths on the highways.

“In addition, the TSA has not really grappled with the findings of its own Inspector General’s report on the alarming deficiencies of its screening procedures.

“In short, TSA has still failed to justify the procedures that it imposes on millions of Americans each day.”

Find more information on CEI’s lawsuit here.