by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:35 AM ET, Wed March 30, 2022
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced it would receive a 2023 budget of $9.7 billion, a $1.4 billion increase from the previous year.
Once approved by Congress, the money will be used to add more security technology, expand collective bargaining rights for TSA officers and update the agency's pay structure to ensure employees are adequately paid for their service.
The budget proposed by United States President Joe Biden includes $871 million for additional personnel compensation and benefits and $243 million to increase the TSA workforce by 2,540 positions, enabling the agency to meet the increasing demands of passenger travel volume.
"One of the long-standing challenges at TSA has been the pay gap between TSA's frontline workforce and their counterparts in the rest of the federal government," TSA Administrator David Pekoske said. "Equitable compensation and sufficient pay progression support TSA's ability to meet mission requirements in the recruitment and retention of employees and positively impacts employee morale."
The funding will also include $105 million for the Checkpoint Property Screening System program and $19 million for On-Person Screening Algorithm Development to improve screening capabilities.
TSA officials said the expanded budget would positively impact all TSA employees, from uniformed officers, federal air marshals, canine handlers and management to administrative and professional employees.
Earlier this month, the TSA announced another major addition of Computed Tomography (CT) x-ray systems for carry-on items at checkpoints across the country. The agency confirmed two orders for a combined total value of up to $781.2 million for the procurement and maintenance of up to 469 base and 469 full-size systems.
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