DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Lawmakers this hour are expected to take up another issue that affects air travelers: security. CNN's Carl Rochelle has that story.</s>CARL ROCHELLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The testimony centers around criticism of the FAA's efforts to beef up security, along with some acknowledgment of progress. The General Accounting Office zeros in on the effectiveness of security screeners, those people who check your baggage. GAO says rapid turnover of screeners, because of low pay and poor benefits, often exceeds 100 percent per year at most airports. It says the FAA is not working fast enough to push for better pay and training, and that often leaves airports with inexperienced people staffing key checkpoints. The Department of Transportation's inspector general says background checks designed to catch criminal activity by potential airport employees are ineffective, and it says it is too easy to get into secure areas of some airports. Its agents were able to penetrate restricted areas at six airports. The FAA did follow-up tests at 80 airports last month. Their agents were able to enter secure areas 32 percent of the time, and even boarded 57 aircraft unchallenged. FAA officials say, letters have been sent to the airports telling them to beef up security. The FAA gets good marks for moving forward with computerized training technology. Officials can project a bomb or knife into a piece of luggage as it appears on the screen to see if it will be picked up by screeners. But the inspector general says, sophisticated bomb detection devices, which cost about $1 million each and are now at 30 major airports, continue to be underused. (on camera): Despite the criticism, the FAA say its security efforts are effective. Officials point to the fact that there have been no terrorist acts against airliners in the U.S. and there hasn't been a hijacking of a U.S. airliner since 1991. Carl Rochelle, CNN, Washington. Search CNN.com CNNSI.com CNNmoney.com The Web
U.S. Lawmakers to Hear Testimony Criticizing FAA Efforts to Beef Up Security