Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,
Travelers in the United States are facing significant delays at airports due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) stated on March 8 in a post on social media.
“Today, travelers are facing TSA lines of up to nearly 3 hours long at some major airports,”said Lauren Bis, deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at TSA, on X.
This has resulted in “missed flights and massive delays during peak travel.”
Referring to TSA officers, Bis said, “These frontline heroes received only partial paychecks earlier this month and now face their first full missed paycheck, leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages,” and called on Democrats to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
A recent travel update issued by William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas, shared by DHS, stated that passengers should arrive at least four to five hours before flight departure to allow enough time for TSA screening, withestimated wait times for the screening exceeding 180 minutes or 2.5 hours.
“Houston Airports urges passengers to remain flexible as the government shutdown may impact security operations from one day—and even one shift—to the next,” the post stated, advising travelers to get in touch with their airlines for further support.
The federal shutdown, which began on Feb. 14, is in its 23rd day. DHS funding issues arising from the shutdown have resulted in staff shortages.
On March 5, the House of Representatives passed a bill tofundDHS. The vote was 221–209, with four Democrats joining all Republicans in voting for it.
However, Senate Democrats blocked the funding legislation, which received 51 votes with 45 opposed. Sixty votes are needed for the spending bill to move forward.
Source: ZeroHedge News
