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  • 2020-03-10 (xsd:date)
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  • Did 174 Democrats Vote Against Barring TSA from Hiring Terrorists and Sexual Predators? (en)
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  • On March 6, 2020, Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative organization Turning Point USA, posted a tweet asserting that 174 Democrats had voted against a bipartisan act to stop convicted terrorists & sexual predators from becoming TSA Agents: That tweet was misleading in several ways, however. First of all, the bill in question was not a bipartisan act to stop convicted terrorists and sexual predators from becoming TSA Agents. The bill — H.R. 1140, known as the Rights for Transportation Security Officers Act of 2020 — was a Democratic-led effort to grant employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) the same protections as other federal employees: H.R. 1140 was not bipartisan, nor did it have anything to do with stopping convicted terrorists and sexual predators from becoming TSA Agents. The latter aspect became part of the debate on the bill along with claims that changes wrought by H.R. 1140 could potentially affect TSA's ability to discipline employees involved in security violations: At the last minute, Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Arizona, made a motion to recommit with instructions (a mechanism used to amend a bill just before it is voted upon by the full House of Representatives) in order to add an amendment to H.R. 1140 related to the TSA's hiring of persons convicted of certain forms of crime: The motion carried, and the version of the bill subsequently voted upon by the House accordingly included the following sentence: During the transition period and after the conversion date, the Secretary [of Homeland Security] shall ensure that the Transportation Security Administration continues to prevent the hiring of individuals who have been convicted of a sex crime, an offense involving a minor, a crime of violence, or terrorism. This amendment did not create any new or additional protections against the TSA's hiring of convicted terrorists and sexual predators as agents. (Existing TSA regulations already disqualify persons convicted of terrorism, rape, aggravated sexual abuse, and various violent crimes, among other offenses.) As the text of the amendment states, it calls upon the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that the TSA continues to prevent the hiring of [such] individuals, and as Lesko acknowledged, the amendment preserves the authority the TSA currently has and simply ensures that current safeguards remain in place. https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1236041536900599809 The vote that Kirk cited was not a vote on the bill itself, but rather a roll call vote on Lesko's motion to recommit with instructions (i.e., 174 Democrats were voting against the motion and thereby seeking to prevent additional amendments to the bill). Democratic critics contended during House debate that Lesko's amendment was an unnecessary red herring, as the TSA conducts rigorous background checks and will continue to do so: When the final version of H.R. 1140 — which included the amendment related to the TSA's hiring of persons convicted of sex- and terrorism-related offenses — was voted upon, it was overwhelmingly passed by Democrats (including by all four of the Democratic representatives named by Kirk: U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Steny Hoyer). Only 14 Republicans out of 197 voted in favor of the amended bill and its language ensuring a continued prohibition on the TSA's hiring of persons convicted of sex crimes or terrorism, while not a single Democrat voted against it: The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. (en)
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