Post-9/11 Rush Mixed Politics With Security

In September 2004, campaign finance records show that Van Scoyoc joined with Reveal officers and others associated with the company in donating an additional $17,250 to HALPAC.

Nine days after the contributions were reported, a House-Senate conference committee chaired by Rogers on the homeland security appropriations bill submitted a report that mandated that Congress spend $30 million on next-generation explosives-detection devices "that are currently being tested, certified, and piloted."

Rogers would later announce that a large portion of that money -- $15 million to assemble 100 Reveal machines -- was going to a company called Mid-South Electronics Inc. in Annville, Ky., not far from Somerset. Rogers told local reporters the money would help the company overcome "a potentially devastating blow" from a catastrophic fire several months earlier.

Solving a Problem

Toward the end of 2004, Rogers and a staff member met with the TSA's Stone and one of his technology advisers. Rogers brought up Reveal, Stone later told The Post. The congressman said the company offered the potential of increasing security while decreasing costs, and he wanted to know how the certification process was going, Rogers and Stone recalled. The TSA chief told Rogers that Reveal's technology was still being studied.

"I remember talking to Stone about the certification process," Rogers said in a recent interview. "It went on and on and on."

On Dec. 21, 2004, the TSA certified Reveal's CT-80 machine, the company said. Reveal officials touted their machine as significantly smaller and cheaper, costing $340,000, about one-third of the price of the larger machines, and saving the government significant labor costs.

Reveal officials also said their golf-cart-sized machines would fit more easily into existing airport spaces, easing passenger flow and minimizing the need for costly construction projects at the ticket counters. But technical documents showed one significant drawback: The machines operated at a quarter of the speed of the larger machines already used at airports.

The Reveal machine "is slower but it solves particular problems," Ellenbogen, the company's president, said in an interview. "It's a PC as opposed to a mainframe."

Reveal officials said the machine was designed for use at medium-size and small airports. Government authorities also envisioned using the smaller machines to supplement the bigger machines at larger airports and to replace some older technologies, Stone said.

In February, Stone briefed a Senate panel about the certification process. He was enthusiastic about the machines, saying the TSA intended to buy and test eight of the devices at three airports as part of a pilot program -- and would then decide how to proceed. At the hearing, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) asked, "When can we expect to see some of that" technology?

But Rogers was growing frustrated. His irritation became public this year in March, when Stone, a retired admiral, appeared before his subcommittee.

Rogers demanded to know why the agency was taking so long to deploy the Reveal machines. He said they could save taxpayers millions of dollars on labor costs for screeners while making the country safer.

"Admiral, in just a few months, it will have been four years since 9/11 -- the same time, roughly, that we went from Pearl Harbor to absolute victory in World War II," Rogers said, according to a transcript of the hearing.

"And here we are about the same time from 9/11 as we were from Pearl Harbor, and in most of the airports in our country, they are still checking for explosives, trying to mimic a dog, swiping the luggage with a smeller thing to test in a machine," he said. "How can you defend that? Would you admit that that's an absolute, utter failure?"

Rogers continued: "When are you going to get those machines in those airports?"

Stone later said he was unaffected by Rogers's criticism.

"I didn't feel pressure from the chairman because I believe we needed to accelerate new technologies into the field," Stone said.

'Everything Is Legal'

Twelve days after the March hearing, a report appeared that raised questions about the TSA's efforts to deploy explosives-detection machines. The report, which had been requested by Rogers and was issued by the Government Accountability Office, highlighted the potential cost savings but also said it was "unclear" how the TSA would make effective use of the new technology without putting a strategic plan in place.

On March 18, three days later, HALPAC reported that Reveal executives, board members, a lobbyist and lawyers associated with the firm donated another $25,250.

Four months later, on July 27, the TSA announced that it was seeking proposals for a "Stand Alone Reduced Size" explosives-detection machine. At the time, Reveal was the only company that manufactured a reduced-size machine that had been certified by the TSA.

On Aug. 18, HALPAC reported that 11 Reveal executives, board members and lobbyists each contributed for $3,000. That $33,000 was their largest donation to date.

In its letter to The Post, Reveal said any "allegation" of a connection between the donations and the contract "would constitute a willful disregard of the truth" and was not supported by the record.

Reveal said in its letter that company executives "have voluntarily contributed to Representative Rogers's Political Action Committee and many other elected officials in connection with fundraising events hosted by members of Reveal's management."

Campaign finance records show that the majority of contributions by company executives, board members and one spouse went to HALPAC. The records show that of their $114,950 in contributions, more than three-quarters -- $87,500 -- went to HALPAC, making the company by far the biggest donor to the PAC. The records also show that those same donors gave a total of $27,450 to 11 other candidates and PACs. Reveal executives did not respond to a question about their pattern of giving.

Rogers said he was surprised to learn that Reveal and its associates were the largest contributors to HALPAC. He said he was not informed about specific fundraisers until sometimes as late as the night before.

"It is true that the first small machine certified by TSA was made by a supporter of mine in my race for Chairman of the Appropriations Committee last year," Rogers said in a statement. "That does not detract from the fact that the company won its contract fair and square in open competition. TSA made its decision based on science and engineering."

Rogers said the money played no part in his support for the Reveal technology.

"Everything is legal and above-board," Rogers said in an interview. "The fact that these people were coming to my fundraisers, I was pleased about it, but it did not influence me."

In its letter, Reveal cited two other lawmakers who had voiced support for its machines, Mica and McCain. Campaign finance records show that neither lawmaker received donations from Reveal executives or board members.

On Oct. 20, Reveal announced in a news release that it had won the TSA contract for the next-generation machines. The company said its CT-80 machine "revolutionizes" baggage screening.

The current chief of the TSA, Edmund S. "Kip" Hawley, who was in charge of the agency during the contracting process, declined repeated requests for an interview.

TSA spokeswoman Clark said the agency received other bids for the contract from GE InVision and L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. She said technical officials at the agency acknowledged that Reveal was the only company whose machine met the size specifications contained in the request for bids on the contract.

"TSA identified a specific need for a reduced size [explosives-detection system] and set a maximum size specification to meet that need," Clark said. "The Reveal CT-80 was the only certified [explosives-detection system] that met the size specification."

Database editors Derek Willis and Sarah Cohen and researchers Alice Crites, Bobbye Pratt and Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.