Transportation Security Administration officers have resorted to selling their blood and plasma for money as the Department of Homeland Security shutdown drags into its 40th day, the agency’s acting administrator told Congress Wednesday.
“Many in our workforce have missed bill payments, received eviction notices, had their cars repossessed and utilities shut off,” Ha Nguyen McNeill, the TSA acting administrator, said during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing.
She added: “Lost their childcare, defaulted on loans, damaged their credit line and drained their retirement savings. Some are sleeping in their cars, selling their blood and plasma and taking on second jobs to make ends meet. All while being expected to perform at the highest level when in uniform to protect the traveling public.”
For the third time in the last fiscal year, approximately 50,000 transportation security officers are being forced to work without pay as senators battle over a deal that will provide the necessary funding to DHS while also include mechanisms to hold immigration enforcement officers accountable.
Until lawmakers reach a deal, many TSA agents are being forced to dip into retirement accounts, take on second jobs or rely on food pantries to get by.
Taylor Desert, a transportation security officer at Indiana International Airport, told the Associated Press, she “never thought” she’d be in the position of going to a food bank to supplement her groceries.
But having last received a paycheck on February 14, Desert is going to great lengths to ensure she doesn’t spend her “entire savings just to afford to keep living.”
Many TSA officers have called out of work and approximately 480 have quit – leading to staffing shortages at some of the largest airports in the nation. As a result, security lines stretch for hours around the airport, frustrating travelers.
LaShanda Palmer, a TSA officer for 24 years, told NBC Philadelphia that colleagues have called out because they have “no gas.”
“Some people can't make it over the bridge," Palmer told NBC Philadelphia. "Some people can't afford childcare.”
Husband and wife TSA agents, Oksana and Deron Kelly, told the Associated Press they’ve dipped into their savings to support their two young children. Deron has begun working as a DoorDash delivery driver in his spare time, but has considered taking up a different job with more stability.
President Donald Trump has deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to dozens of airports to assist in security measures.
The White House said ICE officers have been handing out water to travelers waiting in long security lines and offered to hold spots for those who need to step out of line temporarily.
Trump suggested Wednesday he could deploy National Guard members to airports experiencing long wait times to assist as well. However, it’s unclear what role they could play in alleviating congestion due to understaffed TSA agents.
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