More than 1,400 identification badges and uniform items have been reported lost or stolen from Transportation Security Administration employees since 2003, according to documents obtained by a San Antonio television station.
WOAI-TV received the documents under the Freedom of Information Act. Los Angeles and Chicago airports topped the list of missing items.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport led Texas with 42 items gone, followed by Houston's Bush International with 18, the station reported.
Terrorism experts said the information showed an undeniable threat to security. The Department of Homeland Security has previously warned that stolen badges and uniforms were used by terrorists to stage attacks overseas.
Saul Wilen, a San Antonio-based terrorism prevention consultant, called the issue a very serious problem.
"If you have a badge and a uniform, you are invincible in terms of the system," he said. "Not only can you get in and get around, you can get known and become a regular that becomes more and more recognized, so the next time you are less liable to have to go through the system's security, and the next time even less."
In a statement, the TSA denied that stolen badges could lead to security breaches.
"Transportation security officers, regardless of credentials or uniforms, are screened each time they enter the checkpoint," the statement read. "Badges and uniforms, used individually or collectively, would not allow access to a person with ill intent."
The television station countered that statement with footage of employees bypassing or being waved through checkpoints in San Antonio and Miami.
But the TSA noted that employees are required to have a second, airport-issued badge which is deactivated when reported lost or stolen, consequently prohibiting access to secure areas.
A TSA spokeswoman said staff members know their co-workers and are informed when new employees will be starting, so unfamiliar people would be noticed.
But Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, said the missing badges and possible screening lapses are "a clear and present danger to homeland security."
"We are dealing with people — criminals — who are smart people and will go to great lengths to take advantage of any loopholes in our security," said Smith, who sits on the House Committee on Homeland Security.
He said he has introduced legislation to safeguard TSA badges and uniforms and wants airports to begin issuing heavy fines to TSA employees.
"When we start imposing fines and start holding people accountable for their identification, I promise you, fewer will go missing, fewer will be left in unlocked cars to be stolen and that will help our homeland security, as well," Smith said.
Report: ID Badges, Uniforms Stolen From TSA Workers
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