Republicans Multitask Their Pro-Corporate Job Killing By Privatizing TSA
The ability to complete more than one feat at a time is a desirable quality and indeed, multi-tasking is beneficial to save time and money in nearly any endeavor if a goal is well-defined and there is a reasonable assurance of success. Anyone who follows Republican politics understands that one of their major goals is eliminating the government through privatization to enrich corporations, and if Americans are harmed in the process, then as John Boehner says, “so be it.” Now, Republicans have learned they can multi-task and moved to eliminate government jobs, enrich corporations, and hand over Transportation Security Administration (TSA) duties to for-profit companies. Giving counter-terrorism duties to private companies may not sound dangerous, but Republicans are proposing awarding contracts to foreign companies as well as domestic businesses.
Republican policy is if a government agency is successful, then destroy it by any means necessary by either defunding it, or transferring operations to a private corporation. In a conference report to H.R. 658, the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Republicans proposed plans to expand the Screening Partnership Program (SPP) that allows private companies, instead of federal transportation security officers, to conduct airport security screening. Sixteen smaller airports use private screeners now, but Republicans believe corporations should handle all counter-terrorism activities under their expanded privatization plans.
The chairman of the transportation security subcommittee, Mike Rogers (R-Ala), articulated Republican intentions to award private businesses counter-terrorism duties so they can reap financial rewards when he said, “Rather than trying to insulate a giant federal workforce, TSA should be working to strengthen and improve the private screening program and make it more cost-efficient so that U.S. businesses can take on a more meaningful role.” The push for private contractors as a cost saving measure is problematic because they generally cost the government more money. Private screeners have the same training, follow the same regulations and must be paid at least as much as federal screeners, so Rogers’ argument is inherently false. The truth is Republicans are on a mission to replace federal agencies with corporations and if it is more costly and dangerous, then they accomplished their mission.
Under the SPP, airports can opt out of using federal screeners and it effectively means “opting in to the lowest bidder, which is not how homeland security should operate,” according to John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees. Representative Bennie Thompson (D-Miss), the ranking Democrat on the committee said, “What we do not know is why the Republicans seem to be willing to pay more for the same services or how doing so will create jobs.” Perhaps Thompson just emerged after being isolated from the outside world for ten years, but job creation or saving money is not the Republican motivation for anything; enriching corporate wealth through privatization is their motivation, and if they can kill the government as well, then they achieved their goal.
Read more: http://www.politicususa.com/en/gop-privatize-tsa
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