Most Americans think the TSA is doing a good job, survey finds

Despite all the griping over full-body searches of children and senior citizens, most Americans think the Transportation Security Administration is doing either a good or excellent job of handling security at airports.

During a recent Gallup poll, 54% of Americans said the agency in charge of security at airports is doing a good or excellent job, with another 30% saying the TSA does only a fair job.

Only 12% of those surveyed said the TSA does a poor job.

In fact, the opinion of the TSA is sightly better among Americans who have recently flown, with 57% of those who have flown in the last year saying the agency does a good or excellent job, according to the survey.

And how effective are the TSA screening procedures? A total of 85% of those surveyed said the procedures are either extremely effective, very effective or somewhat effective at preventing acts of terrorism, according to the survey.

In the last few months, Congress has held several hearings to discuss ways to improve the TSA’s image. But the poll suggests Congress may want to work on its own image. The latest Gallup numbers show that Congress now has an approval rating of only 16%.

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