Niamh Shackleton
People traveling from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport have shared their thoughts on who they believe is to blame for the ridiculously long Transport Security Administration (TSA) lines.
There has been major travel disruption of late which has seen some people queue for hours before passing through airport security, and travelers were recently warned that things may only get worse.
As to why there's so much chaos at the moment, it all comes down to the ongoing government shutdown.
The shutdown is largely down to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding freeze, sparked by the the fact that Congress cannot agree on topics like funding and immigration.
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DHS needs approval from Congress for any expenditure and, since all spending has been halted, TSA employees are not being paid. With this in mind, many employees are refusing to go into work therefore causing a shortage of staff.
As a result, there are hours-long TSA queues taking place at some of the country's largest and busiest airports.
In light of the ongoing problems, travelers in Houston were asked who they think is to blame for everything going on at the moment...
Speaking to Fox News Digital, one lady said: "All congressmen. All of them, regardless of their party. They just need to do their jobs."
"Politicians," said somebody else while in a long queue, as another guy shared: "I mean, honestly, look, the Democrats are not voting on the DHS being reinstated. And they’re the ones who pay for TSA from what I know. So, without paying the people, they obviously can’t work."
Agreeing, a different traveler said that it's a 'Democrat mess'.
Reportedly 500 TSA workers have quit amid the funding problems, New York Post said.
Not all airports have been negatively impacted, however, as some American airports are part of the TSA's Screening Partnership Program that uses private, TSA-certified security contractors.
Some of the places that haven't been affected include Dawson Community Airport in Montana, Greater Rochester International Airport in New York, Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida, and Tupelo Regional Airport in Mississippi.
Speaking about Tupelo Regional Airport being unaffected, Nat Carmack from BOS Security, a business that screens people there, said: "All operations at the privatized airports are normal because we continue paying our employees during the shutdown.
"Our employees have never missed a paycheck during any of the government shutdowns."
She added: "As a small business, it’s a burden, but we cover those payrolls until the government reopens and processes our invoices."