TSA to make airports screenings "minimally invasive"

bombs that are going to blow up airplanes and kill people, then we have to do something that prevents that.”

Representative John Mica (R-Florida) who is set to become Transportation Committee chairman when Republicans take over the House in January, differed with the approach. “I don’t think the rollout was good and the application is even worse. This does need to be refined. But he’s saying it’s the only tool and I believe that’s wrong,” Mica, a longtime critic of the TSA, said separately on the CNN program.

With the peak traveling season nearing, air travelers are protesting new requirements at some U.S. airports that they must pass through full-body scanners that produce a virtually naked image. The screener, who sits in a different location, does not see the face of the person being screened and does not know the traveler’s identity.

Those who refuse to go through the scanners are subject to thorough pat-downs that include agency officials touching the clothed genital areas of passengers.

Pistole was shown videos of people being patted down where the screeners touched the breasts of a woman, felt into the pants of another person, and felt the crotch of a man. He said all three cases were proper and that the gloves of the screener who felt inside the pants were then tested for explosive trace residue.

Pistole added that very few people receive the pat-down. People who go through the new advanced imaging machines available at some seventy airports are usually not subject to pat-downs, he said.

Pistole said that while watch lists and other intelligence sources help the TSA pick out travelers who might pose greater risks, rules against profiling mean that some people who are less of a risk, such as the elderly or the disabled, must sometimes undergo pat-downs.

“I want to be sympathetic to each of the negative experiences. We’ve had extensive outreach to a number of different disability community groups, a number of different outreach efforts to try to say, how can we best work with those in your community to effect security while respecting your dignity and privacy,” he said.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland)., appearing on CBS, said Congress would hold hearings on the “very controversial” issue of how to strike the right balance. Asked how he would feel about submitting to a pat-down, Hoyer said: “I don’t think any of us feel that the discomfort and the delay is something that we like, but most people understand that we’ve got to keep airplanes safe.”