Gerrard Kaonga
The head of the Transportation Security Administration has warned things could prove difficult ahead of the World Cup due to the government shutdown.
While many people are hotly anticipating the World Cup being held in the US, those within the TSA may not be as excited.
People from around the world will be attempting to enter the US in order to support their home nations in the soccer tournament and this will lead to many logistical issues.
This is something that would be prepared for ahead of time, like other nations do, but in the US the current government shutdown has thrown a spanner in the works.
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Members of Congress were told of a ‘potential perfect storm’ brewing, ahead of the tournament as June quickly approaches.
Speaking about the ongoing situation, Ha Nguyen McNeill explained there is a severe shortage of frontline security staff ahead of millions of fans trying to enter the nation.
Testifying before a US House committee on Wednesday (March 25), she said: “As the shutdown drags on, we fear we will continue to lose talented and experienced employees to other jobs that can provide a steady pay cheque.
“Not only is the shutdown decreasing the number of interested candidates, for those we are able to hire they are required to complete four to six months of training before they are certified to work at checkpoints.
“At this point, newly hired officers will not be able to work on the checkpoint until well after the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
“This is a dire situation.
“We are facing a potential perfect storm of severe staffing shortages and an influx of millions of passengers at our airports for the World Cup games in less than 80 days.”
According to the Associated Press, so far over 480 TSA officers have quit, adding to more strain on the department.
McNeill also called on the government to resolve the issue and end the budget stand off, that began in mid February.
She also spoke of the personal toll this stand off has had on staff.
She continued: “Congress and the travelling public should be proud of the excellent job the TSA workforce does to protect our national security.
“Paying these dedicated employees for the work they are performing should never be a point of debate, and yet, here we are on the 40th day of our third shutdown this fiscal year.
“Many in our workforce have missed bill payments, received eviction notices, had their cars repossessed and utilities shut off, lost their childcare, defaulted on loans, damaged their credit line and drained their retirement savings.”