The government’s effort to bolster the security of airline baggage could waste billions of dollars on subpar technology because of a rush to complete the project this year, a report to be released Thursday concludes.
Instead, Congress and the Bush administration should set a more realistic goal of December 2004 for screening 1 billion checked bags a year for hidden bombs and appoint a scientific board to guide the program, the Los Angeles-based Reason Foundation recommended.
The libertarian think tank estimated that the new Transportation Security Administration will spend $3 billion to $12 billion trying to meet a Dec. 31 congressional deadline for screening checked bags with a combination of explosives-detection machines. Existing technologies have drawbacks, from high false-alarm rates to frequent breakdowns.
It said the cost of the inspection program is disproportionately high given the money available to deal with a full range of security threats.
