House HSC Democrats Ask TSA to Extend TWIC Renewal Deadline
On November 15, 2011, Representative Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, and other Democratic Members of the Committee sent a letter to the Transportation Security Administration requesting an extension for transportation and port workers to renew their Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWIC), which Thompson has stated will begin to expire in 2012.
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Workers Should not Have to Renew Cards until TSA Finalizes TWIC Reader Rule
Thompson argues that while millions of workers were required to spend significant time and money to obtain TWIC cards, TSA did not fulfill its responsibility to issue the final regulations for the readers by April 2011, as required by law. Therefore, these workers should not have to renew their cards before the biometric security enhancements of TWIC are realized and the program fully implemented.
Thompson is the lead sponsor of H.R. 1105, which would extend worker’s renewal deadline until Dec. 31, 2014 or until DHS issues the final reader rule. (See ITT's Online Archives 11032431 for summary of H.R. 1105.)