Airport to only get 25 new screeners

Suzanne Struglinski

Thursday, July 28, 2005 | 11:06 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The Transportation Security Administration has authorized McCarran International Airport to have 1,079 security screeners, but will not be adding 247 new employees as reported Wednesday.

Instead, the airport's new allocation will mean only an additional 25 screeners because of inaccurate numbers in the administration's original calculation.

New screeners promised to Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., last year have started to be hired, but the additional employees did not make it into calculations used by TSA as it reviewed its new screener allocations.

The administration also switched digits in a number when doing its calculation.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., received an e-mail from TSA Tuesday afternoon, which said that based on a review of its "Screener Allocation Model," McCarran's numbers would change from "832 to 1,079."

Berkley's spokesman, David Cherry, confirmed the number with the administration's legislative affairs staff and sent a news release out late Tuesday announcing the 247-screener difference.

TSA also confirmed for the Sun that the allocation had changed from 832 to 1,079.

But Cherry said TSA later confirmed it used the wrong number as its base. Prior to Tuesday, McCarran had a cap of 1,054 screeners, not 832 as it originally told Berkley's office. It also said the 832 figure was supposed to be 823.

Last year Ensign placed a hold on former Navy Rear Adm. David Stone's confirmation to head the TSA. He allowed the Senate to vote on the nomination only after TSA promised 231 more screeners for McCarran.

Ensign's 231 screeners on top of the 823 screeners already allocated to McCarran brought its cap to 1,054.

The administration's new allocation of 1,079 only marks a 25-screener difference, but TSA still needs to hire roughly 100 people to meet that cap.

TSA spokeswoman Jennifer Peppin said the administration did receive permission last year to go beyond the 823 and now there are nearly 1,000 screeners in place.

The new cap will allow McCarran to hire more screeners, but "not an additional 200-some bodies," Peppin said.

Peppin said TSA is just working at "filling that small gap" of new screeners at the airport.

Cherry said he learned there are 985 screeners at McCarran right now. This leaves 92 positions to be filled under the new cap.