TSA Vendor Faked Tests of Naked Body Scanners  'Allegations of contractor malfeasance' December 5, 2012

The latest outrage was revealed by a TSA official during a grilling from members of a House panel Nov. 15 over information that one of the vendors of the body scanners may have falsified tests on software that was supposed to eliminate naked images of passengers moving through the machines at airport checkpoints. During the hearing, which was held by the House Homeland Security subcommittee on transportation and entitled, "TSA's Recent Scanner Shuffle: Real Strategy or Wasteful Smokescreen?" lawmakers raised the question of whether the company, Rapiscan, manipulated operational tests. Reports said it's possible that the discovery of the phony tests prompted TSA to remove 90 or more body scanners from major airports, as FlyersRights reported in October, following months of complaints. TSA claimed the revealing machines were being moved to smaller airports to speed up lines at the larger airports. Now, it's been revealed that the machines, which are worth about $14 million altogether, have actually been placed in storage at a warehouse in Texas. In his opening statement, the chairman of the subcommittee, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., made reference to the potential "malfeasance." "At this time, I'd like to insert a letter for the hearing record that I sent to [TSA] Administrator [John] Pistole yesterday expressing concern about recent allegations of contractor malfeasance that may have led to the failed tests that put us in this situation," he said. "I hope we can get some answers today on this extremely disturbing situation." To date, the federal government has sunk about $1 billion into some 800 scanners. Moreover, the agency has outline plans to buy and deploy a thousand more over the next two years.

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