The Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill signed by President Biden includes funding to bring TSA employee compensation to a level commensurate with other federal agencies. It also supports funding to expand collective bargaining rights for screening the workforce.
After years of advocating for fair pay for TSA employees, the provision allows the agency to bring pay rates in alignment with other federal agencies, effective July 1, 2023. TSA’s frontline employees, Transportation Security Officers (TSO), have generally been paid up to 30% less than their federal counterparts. The bill also included funding for expanded collective bargaining rights for TSA’s non-supervisory TSOs and new computed tomography and credential authentication technology acquisitions that will significantly enhance its checkpoint screening capabilities.
TSOs now regularly screen more than two million passengers daily, and the TSA expects travel volumes to continue increasing throughout 2023. The FY23 Omnibus Appropriations Bill further enables the critical national security work that TSA employees do daily to protect the nation’s transportation systems.