TSA officials questioned over report on agents' misconduct

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Concord Rep. Richard Hudson wants to know why the federal agency charged with keeping airports safe is letting employees who break the rules get away with what he told me is a "slap on the wrist."

A new report showed Transportation Security Administration agents sleeping on the job, stealing from passengers and helping family members bypass security lines.

"We need to make sure we've got a system in place to catch those bad actors," Hudson said.

Hudson questioned TSA Deputy Administrator John Halinski on Capitol Hill about a federal audit detailing TSA employee misconduct.

The report included a TSA worker at Charlotte-Douglas fired after he was accused of stealing money from passengers.

"There's no room for any of this type of conduct," Hudson said.

The report cites thousands of cases where screeners were sleeping in uniform, not following procedure or showing up to work late.

Those employees often received letters of reprimand. Only 17 percent were fired.

TSA officials said the agency must prove misconduct.

"If I can prove that they're stealing, we're going to walk them out the door and if I can't we're going to do an investigation," Halinski said.

WSOC, By: Jacqueline Fell