Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy To GAO's Report On Flaws In The CAPPS II Program

U.S. SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY

CONTACT: Office of Senator Leahy, 202-224-4242

VERMONT

Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy
To GAO’s Report On Flaws In The CAPPS II Program
To Screen Personal Information On Airline Passengers
February 13, 2004

[The General Accounting Office (GAO),Congress’s watchdog arm, has released a report critical of the Administration’s handling of the CAPPS II program, a risk assessment program that consults commercial databases to identify passengers and compares those identities with government data on terrorists and other criminals to generate a risk score tied to a color-coded system: green (permitted to fly); orange (subject to additional screening); and red (prohibited from flying and possible apprehension). Last September and again last month, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wisc.) sent letters to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge seeking answers to questions about how passengers’ personal information would be used and what accuracy requirements, privacy protections and due process safeguards would be used under the CAPPS II program. Secretary Ridge has not yet responded. Both letters are available on request. GAO reports that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has not addressed seven of eight key issues identified by Congress, including privacy concerns. GAO found weaknesses in TSA’s ability to assess data accuracy, allow for corrections in data, address data security issues, prevent identity theft from thwarting the program, address potential hacking problems, ensure the effectiveness of search tools, and provide for appeals. GAO also raised questions about TSA’s scheduling and cost plans. Following is Leahy’s reaction to GAO’s findings:]
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“GAO confirms the concerns that passengers, airlines and several of us in Congress have continued to raise since the program’s trial run. The bottom line is that CAPPS II is not ready for prime time. The program’s weaknesses may limit its effectiveness, and it lacks sufficient protections for the civil liberties of ordinary, law-abiding travelers.

“These are the same issues that we asked the Administration to address months ago. We’re still waiting for Secretary Ridge’s answers.

“Despite these flaws and the concerns of airline travelers, the Administration has continued with plans not only to launch CAPPS II, but also to expand it. The American people only heard about the secret sharing of their personal information after the fact. When airlines stopped voluntarily sharing passenger information, the Administration announced plans to force them to turn over passenger data. The Administration has ignored warning flag after warning flag about this program, and that only heightens concerns about how they are handling this.

“I strongly support the goals of this program. We need to strengthen the security of our air travel. But we need to do it right. We can improve national security while protecting our privacy. The American people want to be safer, not just to feel safer. The Administration is going to have to start listening and learning so we can get this program fixed and operating properly.”

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