WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Congressional investigators plan to launch a major test of U.S. airport perimeter security and the screening of airport employees next year.
The Government Accountability Office plans to mount a detailed assessment of the topic, Cathleen Berrick of the office's homeland security and justice team told United Press International.
Berrick said the GAO was responding to a request from incoming Democratic committee and subcommittee chairmen with jurisdiction in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Democrats won control of the House in the Nov. 7 midterm congressional elections.
She said the objectives would be to find out what the U.S. Transportation Security Administration was doing to strengthen security at airport perimeters and better control access to restricted airport areas; how the agency judges the effectiveness of its measures; and what the current and expected costs of those measures are, and who is paying them.
"As a part of this work, we will be looking at the employee issue -- screening and background checks," Berrick told UPI.
