Nevada politicians decry planned cuts in McCarran security

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Nevada's Congressional delegation on Thursday denounced a Transportation Security Administration plan to cut the number of federal screeners at McCarran International Airport.

McCarran, the nation's seventh-busiest airport, stands to lose about 16 percent of its federal screeners under the plan. The TSA wants to eliminate 149 screeners out of about 914 positions, said Rosemary Vassiliadis, McCarran's deputy director.

The TSA says budget shortages will force it to cut 3,000 positions nationally by May 31 and another 3,000 positions by Sept. 30 to save an estimated $280 million. TSA's screener work force totaled 55,600 last month.

"This decision will have severe customer service ramifications," the five-member Nevada delegation wrote in a May 1 letter to TSA administrator James M. Loy.

Airport and Nevada politicians say the loss would cause major disruptions for passengers and increase waiting times during off-peak hours, and could harm the "recovering travel and tourism based economy."

They also fear the cuts could place Las Vegas in harm's way.

"The proposal to drastically cut the number of screeners at McCarran is completely irresponsible and the result of misguided priorities and poor allocation of resources," Republican Sen. John Ensign said. "We cannot tolerate having security weakened at one of the world's top tourist destinations."

The TSA was created in November 2001 shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to improve airport security across the country.

Vassiliadis rejected TSA's assertion that the airport had 983 screeners, and said it needs the 1,100 screeners it was promised after the TSA was created.

More than 35 million people used the airport in 2002.

Vassiliadis says she wants to know how TSA made its decision.

"They have not shared any of their methodology with us," she said. "That's one of the things we are asking for."

Members of the delegation have requested a meeting with the TSA to hash out the plan's details.

"I am happy to work with the TSA to find appropriate nationwide staffing levels, but cutting security staff at McCarran ... is a nonstarter," said Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, who sits on the Aviation Subcommittee.

Tom Blank, assistant administrator for transportation security policy, will visit McCarran on Friday to discuss the screeners and aviation security, the TSA announced. He'll be joined by James Blair, the airport's TSA security director.

Blank said most cuts would take place at the nation's largest airports, and that security would not suffer.