By Steve Neavling
Tens of thousands of TSA employees stand to receive a major pay increase under a spending plan proposed by the Biden administration.
The White House is asking for $9.7 billion for TSA, which is a $1.5 billion increase over 2022, Federal News Network reports.
The idea is to bring pay for TSA officers in line with others in the federal workforce.
Under the plan, TSA security officers would receive an average 30% increase in base pay, and federal air marshals would receive a 20% bump in base pay.
Other TSA employees would also receive a pay increase “commensurate with their federal colleagues.”
In May 2020, TSA screeners received an average annual salary of $44,920, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If approved by Congress, TSA Administrator David Pekoske said he’d increase pay within 90 days.
“One of the long-standing challenges at TSA has been the pay gap between TSA’s frontline workforce and their counterparts in the rest of the federal government,” Pekoske said in a statement. “Equitable compensation and sufficient pay progression support TSA’s ability to meet mission requirements in the recruitment and retention of employees and positively impacts employee morale.”
