The House Homeland Security Committee has scheduled hearings for this week on the recent TSA decision loosening restrictions on items it will allow to be carried onto airplanes, a decision that has drawn bipartisan opposition inside Congress along with pushback from aviation industry groups.
Committee members of both parties sent a letter to TSA questioning the new policy of allowing knives and certain sports equipment through security. They said the decision "appears to have been made without formal engagement with stakeholders impacted by this policy, including those most likely to come into contact with someone possessing a knife on a plane – flight crewmembers and air marshals. The Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC), which has played a role in the development of security policy in the past, was also not consulted," an announcement said.
"Americans continue to be mystified by TSA and this latest decision is another example of a questionable TSA policy," said Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.
"As a former federal law enforcement agent, I believe passenger and flight crew safety must remain a top priority, and allowing knives in the aircraft cabin puts that safety at risk," said Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y.
