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Congressional Run-Ins With TSA Continue

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 19, 2009 1:08 PM CDT

(Newser) – It’s not quite a David Vitter, but Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio had his own run-in with airport security this week, the Washington Post reports. DeFazio, one of the architects of the Transportation Security Administration, had to endure what he thought was an unnecessary search. But when he told the screeners he was “kind of an expert on airport security,” an onlooker heard more of a “Do you know who I am?”

“I said, ‘This is really stupid. What are you going to find here with rubber gloves that you didn't find in primary security with the X-ray machine?’” recalled Democrat DeFazio, speculating that the onlooker/source has Republican connections. “They need to do it with sophisticated, state-of-the-art bomb-detection equipment.”

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Rep. Peter DeFazio. (AP Photo)

Sen. David Vitter, R-La. (AP Photo)

TSA workers screen passengers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle. (AP Photo)

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We've all acted like DeFazio has. We've all been yanked out of line and subjected to all sorts of humiliating experiences. But DeFazio should know better. - Darryl Jenkins, aviation analyst

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