Mica Presses Agencies on Biometrics for Pilot Licenses and Transportation Worker Credentials

Washington, DC – Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL) today pressured federal agencies responsible for developing and deploying biometric technology for commercial pilot licenses and transportation worker credentials to get their acts together and stop wasting taxpayers’ money with continued delays.

Today’s Committee oversight and investigations hearing focused on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) failure to develop a commercial pilot’s license that includes a photo of the pilot and biometric identifiers, and the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) long-delayed approval of reader technology for the biometrically enabled Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) for port and maritime workers.

While the Committee received testimony from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), invited representatives of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), including TSA Administrator Pistole, declined to appear before the Committee.

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 included a provision directing the FAA Administrator to develop improved pilot licenses or certificates that are resistant to tampering, alteration, and counterfeiting. The law also stipulated that they include a photograph of the pilot and accommodate a digital photograph, a biometric identifier, or any other unique identifier the Administrator considers necessary. Although newer pilot licenses are now sturdier, they still do not include any of the other requirements set forth in the 2004 law.

“In fact, the only pilots still pictured on the license are Wilburn and Orville Wright,” Mica said. “It is unbelievable that more than six years later, and after spending millions of dollars, the FAA license still does not include the pilot’s photo or any biometric measures. Millions have been spent to replace the paper licenses with plastic cards, but because of the failure to include photographs or biometrics, FAA will spend more taxpayer funds in order to comply with the law.”

Mica added that FAA reauthorization legislation moving through the House and Senate makes it clear that Congress intends pilot licenses to incorporate biometric capabilities.
Furthermore, TSA has announced a pilot program to expedite screening for pilots at airport checkpoints using their non-biometric airline IDs as credentials. While Mica has advocated for expedited screening of pilots and other individuals who have undergone background checks and security clearances, the appropriate credentials for the 700,000 pilots in the United States under such a program ought to be the federally-issued biometric pilot license.

The hearing also highlighted delays and problems with full deployment of biometric technology in the TWIC program. The TWIC for maritime industry workers was mandated in the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, and after slow progress and missed deadlines, TSA finally began issuing TWIC cards in October 2007.
Most port employees in the United States are required to purchase the $132.50 high tech TWIC card.

However, there are still no approved readers in use to verify the TWIC’s biometric identifiers. TSA is still conducting the pilot program for the reader technology. “Without any readers, TWIC is about as useful as a library card,” Mica said.

TSA has spent $420 million on the TWIC program, and has estimated that up to $3.2 billion may be spent by the federal government and the private sector over a ten year period, not including the cost of deploying readers.

Although TSA declined to appear at today’s hearing, Mica, who chaired the Aviation Subcommittee when the 9/11 attacks occurred and was one of the authors of the legislation that established the TSA, stated that he will continue to press TSA to answer for delays in the TWIC program. Mica added that he intends to work with other House committees to ensure that the agency addresses questions about the delays in the TWIC program.