Today, Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (TX-26) introduced, and the House passed, the Secure Flight Offset Amendment to H.R. 2638 the fiscal year 2008 Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The amendment passed 251-171. The full appropriations bill is still under debate on the House Floor.

Important to the legislation is Congressman Burgess’ Secure Flight Offset Amendment which reduces the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of the Undersecretary for Management by $15 million and increases funding for the Transportation Threat Assessment Act by $15 million.

The DHS Undersecretary for Management oversees the Audit Liaison Office at DHS. This Liaison Office helps to oversee the Department's efforts to coordinate with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Office of Investigator General (OIG) and with DHS component agencies.

The liaison officers have not been meeting the goal for which they were first funded – to keep agencies updates and avoid duplication, gaps and inefficiency. The liaison offices have not been successful in providing a centralized and coordinated process.

“My goal was to reduce funding for this ineffective office,” said Congressman Michael Burgess. “Part of being a Congressman is being willing to objectively assess what is working, and often not working, within our federal government and fix it.”

The funding would be used by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to further the development of the passenger pre-screening program called “Secure Flight.” When fully implemented Secure Flight will be able to more effectively compare passenger information to information contained in the federal terrorist watch lists.

Secure Flight will decrease the chance for compromised watch list data by centralizing use of comprehensive watch lists. Second, it will provide earlier identification of potential threats, allowing for expedited notification of law enforcement and threat management. And third, it will offer consistent application of an expedited and integrated redress process for passengers misidentified as a threat.

“Secure Flight is a critical part of TSA’s overall strategy to secure the nation’s commercial air transportation system,” said Congressman Burgess. “The program deserves more money to be fully implemented as soon as possible.”