Losing Firm for TSA Contract Charges An Improper Switch
By ARI PAUL

A $1.2-billion contract to do human-resources work for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration may have been halted July 28 after Avue Technologies protested that the agency improperly altered the procurement process.

The announcement to contract out human-resources services to Lockheed Martin last month sparked opposition from two unions representing TSA screeners. The Washington-based Federal Times reported that Avue charged that TSA changed the scope of the procurement.

National Treasury Employees Union Colleen M. Kelley welcomed the news.

"NTEU is awaiting TSA's responses to extensive questions posed by key members of Congress about the scope and need for the contract," she said in a statement. "NTEU maintains that TSA's priority should be to increase its woefully inadequate staffing levels and provide our nation's air travelers with reduced congestion at security checkpoints that has become commonplace at many airports across the country.