Mark Meredith, Media General National Correspondent – WASHINGTON (MEDIA GENERAL) -- The head of the Transportation Security Administration is set to testify before a committee of the House of Representatives on Wednesday after long lines last week disrupted travel at the nation's second busiest airport.
On Wednesday, Peter Neffenger, the administrator of the TSA, will answer questions about the staffing issues that lead to lines at Chicago's O'Hare airport.
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Travelers: The @TSA recommends arriving 2 hrs prior to domestic flights and 3 hrs prior to international flights https://t.co/gLmgK0dYrV
— O'Hare Intl. Airport (@fly2ohare) May 23, 2016
"He's dealing with a giant bureaucracy, and a big ship that's really hard to turn, and we need Congress to act to turn this ship around," said Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, during a news conference last week. Wednesday's hearing is expected to address security concerns for passengers ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
"I'm going to Chicago this weekend so I'm hoping its not too bad, I've been seeing the news so we'll see what happens there," said one traveler at Reagan's National Airport in Washington D.C. on Monday.
Some in Congress believe individual airports should be able to adjust staffing schedules without the need for involvement with TSA officials in Washington.
"We believe the money is there, the staffing need to be reallocated," added Rep. McCaul.
Details of Wednesday's hearing can be found here.
For the latest on the developments involving TSA, homeland security and Washington news, follow @markpmeredith on Twitter.