BILL REQ. #:  S-2653.1 

Read first time 04/19/11.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     TO THE HONORABLE BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, Efficient air travel is a cornerstone of Washington's economy and quality of life, and no one should have to sacrifice their dignity in order to travel; and
     WHEREAS, Washington is a major transportation hub for Northwest and West Coast destinations; and
     WHEREAS, Washington provides extensive trans-Pacific airline routes and direct flights to the major European airports; and
     WHEREAS, As a result of a change in nationwide policy, the Transportation Security Administration, on October 28, 2010, began implementing new pat down procedures that involve a more intrusive, full body search, during which Transportation Security Administration personnel make inappropriate physical contact with sensitive or private areas of the body; and
     WHEREAS, The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the federal government charged with protecting the nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce; and
     WHEREAS, The Transportation Security Administration is responsible for screening airline passengers and personnel for weapons, explosives, and other contraband that pose a threat to airport security and is responsible for the safety of the general public; and
     WHEREAS, Current Transportation Security Administration screening policies involve airline passengers and personnel passing through advanced image technology scanners or undergoing a pat down search administered by Transportation Security Administration employees, or both; and
     WHEREAS, The advanced image technology scanners used by the Transportation Security Administration capture images that depict the shape and outline of a person's full body as it appears underneath the person's clothing; and
     WHEREAS, Finding advanced image technology scanners to be overly invasive, many airline passengers and personnel choose the option of undergoing a pat down search; and
     WHEREAS, The new procedures are offensive and humiliating to many individuals on whom they are imposed and are egregious whether imposed in public or private; and
     WHEREAS, For survivors of physical and sexual abuse, invasive physical searches may cause revictimization; and
     WHEREAS, For individuals with medical conditions, including those with prosthetics, joint replacements, drainage tubes, pacemakers, or other physical evidence related to a medical condition, invasive physical searches may be particularly traumatic and demeaning, may cause physical harm, and may endanger the person's health; and
     WHEREAS, Reports have indicated that, in some instances, overzealous Transportation Security Administration employees have carried out the new procedures in a manner sufficiently aggressive to rise to the level of an inappropriate invasion of personal privacy from which an individual would ordinarily be protected under the laws of Washington; and
     WHEREAS, Travelers who refuse the new screening procedures are not free to proceed beyond security checkpoints to continue their travel; and
     WHEREAS, Encouraging travel by ensuring the right of individuals to move about without fear of undue invasions of privacy is essential to preserving a free society, safeguarding the flow of commerce, and promoting and sustaining goodwill among nations; and
     WHEREAS, The advanced image technology scanners and pat down search procedures may discourage air travel, causing significant economic and personal hardship to Washingtonians;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the Transportation Security Administration reconsider its use of the pat down search procedures adopted on October 28, 2010, and to conduct pat down searches using less invasive but equally efficient procedures, and urge the United States Congress to exercise greater oversight of the Transportation Security Administration.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States, the Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.