The 2026 DHS funding lapse delayed TSA workers’ pay, but passenger security fees were not automatically available as a shutdown-period payroll account. The statute sets the fee and describes its security purpose; a separate March 27 White House memorandum directed the use of funds connected to TSA operations to compensate employees. A May 1 report said the lapse ended April 30, so the claim that TSA workers are “still unpaid” as a shutdown drags on is no longer an accurate description of that episode.
What happened to TSA pay during the 2026 shutdown?
The DHS funding lapse began February 14, 2026. In testimony submitted for a March 25 House hearing, Ha Nguyen McNeill, then the senior official performing the duties of TSA Administrator, said about 95% of TSA employees—more than 61,000 people—were considered essential and continued working without pay. She also said TSA screened around three million passengers on peak days.
McNeill’s testimony said delayed payroll would be nearly $1 billion by March 27. That figure referred to wages delayed, not money collected from passengers. A May 1 report said the lapse ended April 30. These dates describe the 2026 episode; they do not establish that TSA employees remain unpaid now.
Why didn’t passenger security fees automatically cover those paychecks?
The fee has a defined rate and security purpose
Under 49 U.S.C. § 44940, passengers generally pay $5.60 per one-way trip originating at a U.S. airport, capped at $11.20 per round trip. The statute says the charge pays for civil aviation security services and includes compensation for screening personnel among those costs.
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The law distinguishes the fee from immediately available payroll cash
The statutory purpose does not mean every dollar collected is automatically available to TSA for wages during a funding lapse. The statute provides that, beginning October 1, 2027, covered fees are credited as offsetting collections to appropriations for TSA aviation-security measures. That timing is distinct from the 2026 shutdown and does not establish that the fee directly funded the delayed payroll.
The House Committee on Homeland Security said in a May 13, 2026 release that the fee generated “over $40 billion in revenue” during the preceding decade, and argued that billions had been diverted to unrelated purposes. That is the committee’s characterization of decade-long revenue, not evidence of a $40 billion account balance available to pay TSA workers.
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What did the March 27 White House action direct?
On March 27, 2026, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum directing the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget, to use funds with a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations for compensation and benefits that would have accrued during the shutdown, consistent with applicable law. The memorandum said: “Accordingly, I hereby direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations to provide TSA employees with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shutdown, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a).”
This was a direction to use operationally connected funds. It does not identify the passenger security fee as the direct source of the delayed-pay compensation.
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Would the Pay TSA Act have changed the rules?
H.R. 7941, the Pay TSA Act of 2026, was introduced on March 16 and referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security. Its stated purposes included restricting passenger security fees to aviation-security uses, creating a Transportation Security Trust Fund, and maintaining TSA operations and personnel through an appropriations lapse.
Introduction and committee referral do not enact a bill. The cited bill record does not establish its final disposition by October 8, 2026; consult Congress.gov’s current bill history before relying on any later-status claim.
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- SECURITY WITH THE FLEXIBILITY OF A CABLE LOCK. Cable locks can handle situations that normal lock shackles simply can’t. Our lock’s cable is thin enough to thread through all standard sized zippers and hard case lock holes but strong enough to protect your belongings. At a length of 4 in from end to end and an internal looped length of 1.5 in when locked, our cable offers the flexibility to secure nearly any suitcase, hard case, gun case, etc. on the market.
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How to read the fee-and-pay figures
- $5.60 one-way and an $11.20 round-trip cap: the passenger charge set out in 49 U.S.C. § 44940.
- More than 61,000 workers, or about 95%: McNeill’s March 25 hearing testimony on employees deemed essential and working without pay.
- Nearly $1 billion: McNeill’s estimate of delayed payroll by March 27, not security-fee revenue.
- Over $40 billion: the House Homeland Security Committee’s May 13 characterization of fee revenue during the preceding decade, not a verified available balance.
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