Mary Gay Scanlon: “Fortunately, Madam Speaker, this bill before us today will address each of those challenges. The Rights for…”

“Fortunately, Madam Speaker, this bill before us today will address each of those challenges. The Rights for Transportation Security Officers Act will honor those who protect America's aviation security by bringing the TSA personnel system within the bounds of the rest of the Federal workforce. H.R. 1140 will put an end to the current TSA personnel directives that have allowed the TSA to be the judge and jury in workforce disciplinary matters, and require TSA to follow the labor-management employee relations statutes that provide workplace rights and protections to most Federal employees under title 5 of the U.S. Code; the provision that is most notable in efforts to increase employee retention and morale by putting TSOs on the general schedule pay scale and finally aligning pay with the vast majority of other Federal employees. This legislation has been a long time coming for the men and women who protect our skies and keep millions of us safe on a daily basis. During the 35-day partial government shutdown at the end of the last Congress, TSOs were required to work for more than 5 weeks without pay. At Philadelphia International Airport in my district, a typical entry- level salary for a TSO is about $29,000 per year, without including additional locality pay.…”