(The Center Square) – TSA agents getting paid Monday or Tuesday of this week, including retroactive to their losses Feb. 14, are not a guarantee of reduced wait times for airports in North Carolina and across the nation.
Simply put, some agents took other jobs and are gone.
One thing that will end is the collection of donations for them. Those sprung up this month, brushing against the federal law prohibiting solicitation or reception of gifts or items worth more than $20 “per occasion” if related to a governmental job.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport, seventh busiest for passenger travel in North America, on Sunday said its gift card donation initiative was over – effective Monday – following second-term Republican President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order on Friday directing Homeland Security to pay Transportation Security Administration workers.
“CLT is deeply grateful to the passengers, partners and community who came together to support more than 600 local TSA employees with food, fuel and essentials during this time,” a statement from the airport leaders said. “We also extend our continued appreciation to our TSA colleagues for their unwavering commitment to keeping travelers safe. While this action provides critical relief, CLT supports long-term solutions to ensure continued stability for this essential workforce.”
At Raleigh-Durham International, a similar message was shared Sunday afternoon.
Tom Homan, the border czar of the White House and interim director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in Sunday network interviews said TSA officers would be paid Monday or Tuesday. He also said ICE agents will remain available to help in airports.
North Carolina’s largest three airports have had little fluctuation in the last two weeks, sans the fatal crash at LaGuardia disrupting service in both directions, according to the platform FlightAware that tracks such data.
Friday through Sunday, Charlotte Douglas had 18 cancelations and 744 delays. A week earlier, there were 15 cancelations and 813 delays for the same three days of the week. At Raleigh-Durham, this past weekend included 20 cancelations and 239 delays (up 10 and 15, respectively); and Piedmont Triad International had six cancelations and 39 delays (up three, down four, respectively).
The partial government shutdown began Feb. 14 after a Jan. 30 deadline was not met and an extension was given, impacting thousands of Transportation Security Administration personnel. TSA is part of the Department of Homeland Security, the 1/12th of the congressional budget yet to be funded.
For context between the politicians’ polar opposite blame, Democrats have demands for reforms on immigration enforcement, a desire to separate agencies within Homeland Security, and accountability. Republicans believe the department as constructed for cohesive consideration of national threats does not need changing, and the House of Representatives has already passed bipartisan funding that isn’t able to get past Senate Democrats.
The Senate had a pro forma session on Monday lasting less than a minute. It is expected to resume business after Easter on April 13. It did not take up the bill to fund Homeland Security through May 22 passed 213-203 on Friday night by the House of Representatives.
