The House passed a bill on Thursday that seeks to improve working conditions for employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
The bill, dubbed the Rights for the TSA Workforce Act, passed in a 220-201 vote that mainly broke along party lines. Four Republicans crossed the aisle to join Democrats in supporting the measure. Four Democrats and three Republicans did not vote.
The legislation calls for giving TSA employees the rights and protections provided by Title 5 of the U.S. code, which is what other federal workers are subject to.
If passed by the Senate and signed into law, TSA workers would be eligible to form a collective bargaining unit. Additionally, the bill would enforce new terms for determining pay in accordance with the General Schedule wage system.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security and a sponsor of the bill, said placing TSA workers under Title 5 “will reduce attrition, boost morale, and improve and professionalize the TSA workforce.”
“It’s long past time that we place this critical workforce under title 5 to provide better pay and full collective bargaining rights,” Thompson said in a statement.
“Codifying these rights in law is the right thing to do for TSA’s 60,000 workers – and the right thing to do for national security,” he added.
The chairman also recognized the work TSA employees have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, TSA...
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