Lawmakers Propose Measures to Curb Spread of Virus in Federal Facilities
Representatives Ted Budd (R-NC), Ralph Norman (R-SC), and John Larson (D-CT) recently introduced the Healthy Skies Act, which would require Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees to check the temperature of fliers before they are allowed through security. As federal agencies create reopening plans for their employees, there is pressure on lawmakers to ensure that they do so safely and efficiently. For federal facilities that are open to the public like airports and postal offices, this task is high priority since there is close interaction between employees and members of the public.
Representative Ralph Norman explained the main question this bill would aim to answer is “how difficult would it be to use airport TSA checkpoints to identify people with a fever—and possibly COVID or some other contagious illness—and prevent them boarding a commercial flight and possibly putting others at risk?”
This bill would introduce a pilot program where temperature checks would be imposed in at least ten different airports across the country and passengers with a fever above 100.4 would not be allowed to board flights. Depending on the success of this trial, the program would be expanded. A similar pilot program of temperature checks for postal employees has been imposed within the U.S. Postal Service at several locations.
There is some pushback from TSA officials and experts regarding the proposal. TSA Administrator David Pekokse has supported the federal government’s decision not to check passengers’ temperatures. Dr. Vicki Hertzberg, professor and director of a data science center at Emory University explained in a House hearing on the issue that, “people can be asymptomatic, sure, and have the virus and shed it and transplant it that way. So just taking temperatures alone is no guarantee.”
Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) introduced a bill in Congress that would require the use of face masks in all federal properties and facilities. Under the Wear Your Mask Act, employees would be required to wear masks and masks would be supplied to individuals at all public entrances to buildings. Garcia explained, “we are observing significant spikes in the number of COVID-19 cases and one of the few tools we have at our disposal to protect ourselves against the spread of this virus is wearing a face mask.”
As lawmakers work to ensure all individuals entering federal TSA checkpoints are coronavirus-free, an IRS employee association has voiced concern that support personnel at federal facilities may not be adequately protected against spreading COVID-19 in their offices.
In a letter to the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means, Professional Managers Association (PMA) President Chad Hooper explained, “Returning to work amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic creates unquestionable anxiety for many IRS employees… Any way the Service can mitigate the stress and concern of returning employees will only enhance their focus on those critical jobs. PMA members across the country have reported concerns that FPS personnel and contracted security officers maintaining the security of IRS offices seem to be inconsistently wearing the PPE necessary to prevent transmission of the coronavirus.”
