A Washington, D.C. delegate has called out the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for routinely questioning the legitimacy of D.C. licenses and ID cards.
D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton sent a letter to TSA administrator David Pekoske last week highlighting the "chronic problem" and detailing a recent incident in which a D.C. resident nearly missed their flight out of Newark Liberty International Airport after officers debated the validity of the ID.
"As I am sure you can imagine, it can be humiliating for a U.S. citizen to be delayed because a federal government employee does not recognize the name of the District of Columbia," Norton wrote.
"I therefore ask that you, like your predecessors, take action to ensure that all D.C. licenses and IDs in circulation continue to be included in the daily TSO briefings and to take any additional steps that can help TSOs recognize District driver's licenses."
Norton's office has been working with the TSA since 2014 when the D.C. license was changed from "Washington, D.C." to "District of Columbia" as part of an update to meet Real ID requirements.
"I am grateful that your predecessors implemented additional training for TSOs so that they could more easily recognize District licenses, but perhaps due to turnover at TSA, the problem persists," she wrote.
The 12-year-old Real ID program mandates that states issue more secure ID cards to residents. While only about half of the states are currently compliant, it's expected that the Department of Homeland Security will continue to grant extensions so travelers without passports aren't barred from domestic travel.
D.C. licenses aren't the only things giving TSA officers headaches. Officials working at airports across the U.S. failed to detect 80 percent of the test weapons smuggled through security checkpoints by undercover inspectors during a recent performance review.
Given the agency's struggles, it's no wonder the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and other travel associations have been vocal in their support for The Transportation Security Administration Modernization ACT.
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