TSA nominee discusses resiliency at confirmation hearing

Southers

   The United States needs to build more resiliency into its critical transportation infrastructure by engaging the public about the terrorist threat and making it a part of the security layer as is done in London and Israel, said Erroll G. Southers, President Obama's nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration.
   Southers, the assistant chief for homeland security and intelligence for the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department, said during his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday that TSA has an active campaign to better explain why its policies are necessary and what they mean.
   Post-incident resiliency requires systems to be able to bounce back quickly from a disaster and Southers said the TSA is sponsoring two pilot projects at Los Angeles International Airport focused on continuity of operations in the event of a chemical or biological attack.
   The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee could vote on Southers' nomination before the Thanksgiving holiday. ' Eric Kulisch

FreightWaves Staff