Washington, Oct 29, 2007 -

A 23-year-old statement from the Irish Republican Army (IRA) gives us an insight into the terrorist mindset and what our nation is up against. After a failed attempt on the life of Margaret Thatcher, the IRA said in a public statement “Today we were unlucky. But remember, we only have to get lucky once. You have to get lucky every day.”

In tests last year, O’Hare’s Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) screeners only “got lucky” 40 percent of the time. With the attacks of September 11th still fresh in our nation’s mind one cannot help feeling a great sense of anxiety and bewilderment following these findings.

This month, two classified TSA reports were leaked to the media claiming security screeners at O’Hare failed to detect 60 percent of bomb materials and explosives hidden in carry-on bags. The security gaps were not limited to O’Hare. Los Angeles International Airport missed upwards of 75 percent of fake bombs.

O’Hare, located in the district I represent, is our nation’s second busiest airport servicing more than 75 million passengers a year. The risk of a real bomb making it on board an aircraft is much greater when screeners only have a 40 percent success rate. This raises serious questions about the competency of TSA employees and their training.

However difficult, we must have measures that give America the greatest opportunity to prevent future attacks. The current screening success rate is simply unacceptable.

Even though TSA’s tests were performed in 2005 and 2006, I did not have any indication that the problems have been solved. While I applaud the proactive approach, the results stand and questions were still unanswered.

This is why I immediately sought an inspection of O’Hare’s security measures with Federal Safety Director, Kathleen Petrowsky. I needed to know what measures were being taken by TSA to rectify the finding of these investigations. It was also imperative for me to hear what TSA learned from the undercover tests it conducted and how they are using this information to lower the screening failure percentage.

TSA screeners are in a trick bag where good is never good enough. From my prospective, a 60 percent failure rate is unacceptable – but so would a 100 percent success rate. If screeners caught everything that was passed through the system I would question “how hard really is this test?”

As al Qaeda adapts, so should our training and testing. We must constantly push TSA screeners to sharpen their skills and stay one step ahead of an innovative enemy.

My inspection of O’Hare coincided with an FBI alert concerning a renewed threat of shoe bombs. Just last month, European security officials discovered a pair of shoes being used to transport bomb components. These small components could then be reassembled once past security checkpoints. This is not the first time shoes have been used as a terrorist weapon. Three months after the attacks of 9/11, Richard Reid was caught trying to blow up an American Airlines jet with a shoe bomb.

No longer looking for large assembled bombs, TSA is now charged with finding smaller components cleverly hidden in anything from a hair dryer to the actual luggage frame.

As terrorists change tactics so must our security officials. The attacks of 9/11 have sent a clear message to the American people that we must not ever become complacent in our obligation to secure our nation and its transportation system.

As such, I am pleased to announce O’Hare will receive more sophisticated X-ray equipment over the next year to help improve the ability of TSA workers searching for illegal contraband. This new technology will allow screeners to view baggage in three dimensions.

New technology, improved training, layered security measures along with continued vigilance are vital to protecting the airlines and those who travel. It is essential that these startling findings produce safer and more secure travel at O’Hare and other airports across the United States. As your Congressman, I will continue to push for increased security measures for our nation’s transportation system.