by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 3:30 PM ET, Mon April 13, 2026
The U.S. Travel Association is calling on Congress to provide three years of funding for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to help avoid future impacts to TSA paychecks amid partisan political battles on Capitol Hill.
The travel industry organization and its CEO, Geoff Freeman, issued a statement today stating that Congress should "fix TSA funding through reconciliation.”
“The chaos that gripped American airports over the past several months was entirely preventable,” Freeman said in a statement.
“It was the direct consequence of political leaders prioritizing leverage over the wellbeing of hard-working TSA officers and the traveling public,” Freeman added. “The upcoming reconciliation package is the opportunity to change that."
Freeman is calling on Congress to pay TSA officers for the next three years and take the “political leverage” of stalling TSA salaries off of the table for Republicans and Democrats.
The organization’s statement comes after yet another round of TSA employees having their pay halted amid the latest political impasse in Washington D.C.
On February 13, funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lapsed, triggering a partial shutdown of DHS that affected TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, and cybersecurity.
The shutdown began amid disagreements in Congress over the level of funding being appropriated for DHS. Democrats refused to fund DHS without implementing reform and reigning in the violence of ICE agents following the shooting deaths of two Americans in Minneapolis, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Democrats tried several times to vote unanimously to fund the TSA and other agencies that were operating unpaid, like the Coast Guard and FEMA, but Republicans consistently refused to support any movement forward without funding ICE.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., one of many Democrats who has spoken out on the issue, has argued that basic standards need to be imposed on immigration agents, pointing out that Americans broadly support the idea that federal agents "shouldn't be assaulting or killing Americans with impunity," such as what took place in Minneapolis.
Despite the killing of two Americans and repeated nationwide protests, Republicans have opposed adding standards for ICE and CBP.
Amid these political battles, TSA agents went unpaid and many walked off the job. When TSA agents stopped showing up for work at the nation’s airports at record rates it created hours-long lines for travelers.
Just before Congress’ Easter recess, Senate Republicans advanced a measure to fund most of DHS. But House Republicans rejected it and as a result, lawmakers went home without a budget deal.
At that point, President Trump signed an executive order directing DHS to pay TSA employees for work performed since Feb. 14. A similar directive was issued a week later to extend back pay to the rest of the department. While TSA paychecks have resumed and security checkpoint wait times at airports are declining, the future is far from certain.
Lawmakers have still not reached an agreement on long term funding. Democrats are still holding out for reform of ICE, a demand coming from countless Americans who have been busy phoning and emailing political representatives. Republicans, however, have still not agreed to such reforms.
Freeman says funding TSA for three years would avoid holding TSA agents hostage in this political battle.
“Three years of stable, dedicated funding for TSA officers is the minimum needed to rebuild staffing pipelines, retain experienced personnel, and ensure that we do not experience the same dysfunction for the foreseeable future,” Freeman said. “Without it, we are simply setting the stage for the same crisis to repeat itself, as early as June and again two months before the election, when funding for TSA will likely run dry.”
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