US senators complain about airport patdowns

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Even U.S. senators are  bridling at new airport security measures that include highly  personal patdowns of some passengers that a top transportation  security official acknowledges are invasive.

As the busy holiday travel period approaches, senators at a  hearing  on Wednesday complained to Transportation Security  Administrator John Pistole about the tougher screening which  entails a patdown or highly detailed body imaging.

“I’m wondering why I got both a few weeks ago. I did use my  Senate I.D. and was subjected to both,” Republican Senator Mike  Johanns said during a Senate Commerce, Science and  Transportation Committee hearing. “Now, I didn’t object to  going through the advanced imaging.”

The new airport screening procedures come after several  foiled plots in the past year, including a Nigerian man who  tried to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear aboard a  U.S. flight from Amsterdam to Detroit in December.

Republican Senator George LeMieux expressed worries about  the degree of contact in the patdowns, which include touching  of the genital region and breasts.

“I’m frankly bothered by the level of these patdowns. I’ve  seen them first-hand in airports in Florida,” he said.

“I wouldn’t want my wife to be touched in the way that  these folks are being touched. I wouldn’t want to be touched  that way. And I think that we have to be focused on safety, but  there’s a balance,” he said.

Pistole agreed it was important to strike the right balance  between safety and privacy, but said most travelers want to fly  on a plane with passengers who had been properly screened.

“I recognize the invasiveness of it. I also recognize that  the threat is real. The stakes are high, and we must prevail,”  Pistole said.