Originally Posted by acitrano
Congress doesn't author or establish these policies. They ultimately control the agency, but don't write security procedures.
And hey, we're the ones who put them each there in the first place, so laugh all you want, joke is on us.
Members of Congress are not stupid. They pass legislation enabling an agency to make rules. When the rules are ridiculous, Congress then blames the bureaucrats in the agency. The lighter/match fiasco is a perfect example of this game. The legislation only explicitly mentioned one type of lighter, but also allowed TSA to make rules regarding lighters. Voila! All lighter and matches are now banned.
A wise law school classmate pointed out how Congress often drafted legislation using ambiguous terms and phrases. Then, the courts could be blamed for the inevitable decision that construed the statute in a manner that outraged people. Gutless wonders in Washington.