Congressman angered by security screening at Portland airport

WASHINGTON — Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio met with officials from the Transportation Security Administration on Tuesday after he was singled out for special security screening at Portland International Airport this week.

Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, reported that the 12-term Democrat "lost his temper" and denounced the security as "stupid" Monday.

DeFazio told The Associated Press he was "not happy" about being singled out for security screening, but denied the newspaper's account that he caused a "ruckus" that drew extra security officers.

"I didn't lose my temper. I was not happy and I told them it was a stupid practice," DeFazio said Tuesday.

He said he had gone through electronic screening upon boarding a flight in Eugene, Ore., and was pulled out of the line in Portland on his way to make a connecting flight to Washington, D.C.

"The context is I was inside the airport and had already completed security screening (in Eugene) and had already flown on an airplane" when he was pulled out of line — apparently at random — and searched by security agents wearing rubber gloves, DeFazio said.

"TSA is off track here and we are going to try to fix the policy," added DeFazio, a longtime member of the House Transportation Committee and a former chairman of the aviation subcommittee.

The dispute marks the second time this month a member of Congress has been involved in an airport security incident. TSA officials are reviewing a report that Sen. David Vitter, R-La., set off a security alarm March 5 when he opened a gate door in his rush to catch a flight last week at Washington Dulles International Airport.

In a statement, Vitter said he accidentally went through a wrong door at the gate leading to the United Airlines plane he was trying to board.

DeFazio said Rep. Earl Blumenauer was standing nearby on Monday and witnessed the incident. Blumenauer could not be reached for immediate comment Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for the TSA declined immediate comment.

DeFazio met Tuesday with Lee Kair, assistant TSA administrator for screening operations.

A spokeswoman for DeFazio said that both sides agreed that security operations are "a work in progress" and "there's room for improvement."