2026年3月21日 / 美国东部时间上午10:23 / CBS/美联社
周五，一项为美国国土安全部提供资金的法案未能在参议院推进，机场延误情况持续恶化。
官员们警告称，由于人员短缺，一些小型机场可能被迫关闭，而且在政府资金恢复、运输安全管理局（TSA）人员拿到薪水之前，等待时间预计不会改善。
民主党人拒绝提供推动这项资金法案最终通过所需的支持。参议院民主党领袖查克·舒默表示，他将于周六提出一项替代方案，仅为运输安全管理局（TSA）提供资金，该机构负责对乘客和行李中的危险物品进行筛查。
但由于议员们举行罕见的周末会议，这一替代方案也可能失败。
部分机场安检队伍和筛查工作进一步恶化
美国一些最大机场的安检队伍排起长龙，导致机场状况越来越难以预测。一些机场的等待时间已延长至数小时，休斯顿、亚特兰大、新奥尔良等城市的乘客报告称延误时间足以错过航班。
国土安全部表示，TSA人员上周末首次未拿到全额工资，全国范围内的缺勤率正在上升。周日，休斯顿一家机场超过一半的预定工作人员缺勤。在亚特兰大哈茨菲尔德-杰克逊国际机场，周三有38%的工作人员缺勤，周四为32%。
自国土安全部关闭以来，已有超过300名TSA员工离职。
旅客在休斯顿乔治·布什洲际机场E航站楼的TSA安检点忍受长时间排队和两小时的等待。迈克尔·维克 / 美联社
周五下午早些时候，休斯顿乔治·布什洲际机场报告等待时间为120分钟，而亚特兰大哈茨菲尔德-杰克逊国际机场主安检口的等待时间为80分钟。
“尽快通过拨款，共同努力，这样我们才能继续支付员工工资，并照顾那些维持国家运转的人。”周五在罗纳德·里根华盛顿国家机场的科琳·冈特对哥伦比亚广播公司新闻表示。
马斯克在员工未领工资后提出支付TSA人员薪水
亿万富翁埃隆·马斯克周六上午在社交媒体上表示，他将支付TSA工作人员的薪水。
“在这场资金僵局期间，我愿意支付TSA人员的工资，因为这正对全国各地机场的众多美国人生活产生负面影响。”他写道。
绝大多数TSA员工被视为必要工作人员，即使没有工资，他们仍在政府资金中断期间继续工作。
“我们的员工正在受苦。”代理TSA副局长亚当·斯塔尔本周早些时候表示，“我们有些人睡在自己的车里，甚至抽血来支付上班的油费。”
匹兹堡国际机场与当地一家食品银行合作，帮助受政府停摆影响的TSA特工和其他一些联邦工作人员。南佛罗里达食品银行负责人帕科·贝莱斯告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻，南佛罗里达州一家临时食品银行向近200名TSA工作人员及其家人提供了食物，因为他们无薪工作。
国会在资金和移民执法实践上的僵局
周五，幕后解决僵局的工作有所加强，白宫边境问题负责人汤姆·霍曼连续第二天与两党参议员小组会面。在明尼阿波利斯，亚历克斯·普雷蒂和蕾妮·古德被枪杀后，民主党人要求联邦特工改变移民执法做法。
民主党议员在与霍曼的会面后未发表评论。南达科他州共和党参议员、参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩表示，他认为与白宫的讨论中出现了“达成协议的空间”。但他也质疑民主党是否真的愿意达成任何能为美国移民和海关执法局（ICE）提供更多资金的协议。
“这是所有人的问题。”图恩说，“人们在机场排队，这需要解决。必须尽快解决，而且各方终于在所有相关问题上都在进行善意的努力。”
在参议院全体会议上，舒默表示，他同意TSA需要尽快重新开放——但不是在共和党人提出的条件下，即资助整个国土安全部。民主党人希望在资助TSA的同时，继续就移民和海关执法局（ICE）的问题进行谈判。
“明天，美国将清楚看到：哪些参议员希望开放TSA，支付TSA人员工资，结束机场的混乱；哪些参议员将再次阻挠TSA资金。”舒默说。
民主党人要求在资金法案中纳入一系列政策变化，包括要求ICE特工在强行进入房屋前必须获得法官签署的搜查令，还要求特工在制服上佩戴身份标识并禁止使用面罩。
特朗普政府表示，已同意几项改变，包括扩大佩戴随身摄像头的使用范围（卧底行动除外），并限制在医院、学校和宗教场所等特定敏感地点的民事执法活动。共和党人还指出，特朗普解雇了国土安全部部长克里斯蒂·诺姆，并任命霍曼负责明尼阿波利斯的行动，这些行动表明政府有意改变ICE的运作方式。
国会计划在本月底开始为期两周的复活节休会，进行长时间休息。图恩威胁称，如果僵局不解决，将要求参议员留在华盛顿。
“如果政府仍在停摆，我认为我们无法休假。”图恩说。
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/calls-grow-to-fund-tsa-as-travelers-frustration-grows/
Airport delays worsen as Congress fails to pass DHS funding bill that would pay TSA workers
March 21, 2026 / 10:23 AM EDT / CBS/AP
Airport delays continue to worsen as a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security failed to advance in the Senate Friday.
Officials have warned that some smaller airports could be forced to close due to staffing shortages, and wait times aren’t expected to improve until government funding is restored and TSA officers receive paychecks.
Democrats declined to provide the support needed to move the funding measure toward final passage. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said he would offer an alternative measure Saturday to fund just the Transportation Security Administration, which screens passengers and luggage for hazardous items.
That too is likely to fail as lawmakers hold a rare weekend session.
Security lines and screening worsen at some airports
Long lines to get through screening at some of the country’s biggest airports have made airport conditions increasingly unpredictable. Wait times have stretched into multiple hours at some airports, with passengers in cities like Houston, Atlanta and New Orleans reporting delays long enough to miss flights.
TSA officers missed their first full paycheck last weekend, and absences are climbing nationwide, according to Homeland Security. More than half of scheduled staff were absent Sunday at an airport in Houston. At Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, 38% of officers missed work on Wednesday and 32% on Thursday.
More than 300 TSA employees have left the agency since the start of the DHS shutdown.
Air travelers endure long lines and two-hour wait times at the TSA security check point at Terminal E at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Michael Wyke / AP
Wait times of 120 minutes were reported at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston early Friday afternoon, while Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport reported an 80-minute wait time at its main checkpoint.
“Get it passed. Work together. Come together so that we can continue to pay our people and care for the folks who keep our nation running,” Corinne Gunter, who was at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Friday, told CBS News.
Elon Musk offers to pay TSA officers’ salaries after missed paycheck
Billionaire Elon Musk said in a social media post Saturday morning that he would pay the salaries of TSA workers.
“I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country,” he wrote.
The vast majority of TSA employees are considered essential and continue to work during the government funding lapse, even without pay.
“Our people are hurting,” acting deputy TSA administrator Adam Stahl said earlier this week. “We have individuals sleeping in their cars, drawing blood to afford to pay for gas to get to work.”
Pittsburgh International Airport partnered with a local food bank to help TSA agents and some other federal workers affected by the government shutdown. A pop-up food bank in South Florida fed nearly 200 TSA workers and their families as they go without a paycheck, Feeding South Florida president Paco Vélez told CBS News.
Congress standoff over funding, immigration enforcement practices
Behind the scenes, work toward resolving the standoff intensified Friday as White House border czar Tom Homan met with a bipartisan group of senators for the second consecutive day. Democrats are demanding changes to immigration enforcement practices by federal agents following the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.
Democratic lawmakers left the meeting with Homan without commenting. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, said that he sees “deal space” coming out of the discussions with the White House. But he also questioned whether Democrats were serious about reaching any agreement that would provide more money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“This is a pox on everybody’s house,” Thune said. “You’ve got people standing in lines at the airports. This needs to be fixed. It needs to get resolved and there are good-faith efforts being made finally on all the relevant issues.”
On the Senate floor, Schumer said he agreed that TSA needs to be reopened as quickly as possible — but not under the terms Republicans are offering, which is to fund the entire Homeland Security department. Democrats are looking to fund TSA while continuing negotiations on Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Tomorrow, America will see the matter crystal clear: which senators want to open up TSA, pay TSA workers, and end the chaos at our airports, and which senators are going to block TSA funding yet again,” Schumer said.
Democrats have demanded an array of policy changes as part of a funding bill that include requiring ICE agents to get a warrant from a judge before forcefully entering homes. They also are looking to require agents to wear identifying information on their uniforms and ban the use of masks.
Air travelers endure long lines and two-hour wait times at the TSA security check point at Terminal E at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Michael Wyke / AP
The Trump administration says it has agreed to several changes already, including expanded use of body-worn cameras, with an exception for undercover operations, and limited civil enforcement activities at certain sensitive locations, such as hospitals, schools and places of worship. Republicans also note that Trump has fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and put Homan in charge of operations in Minneapolis, actions they say show the administration’s intent to make changes in ICE’s operations.
Congress is scheduled to go on an extended break near the end of the month for a two-week Easter recess. Thune has threatened to keep senators in Washington if the impasse is not resolved.
“I can’t see us taking a break if the government is still shut down,” Thune said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/calls-grow-to-fund-tsa-as-travelers-frustration-grows/
