By Stephen Barr
Friday, February 10, 2006; B02

The Transportation Security Administration has been hit by troubling turnover in its screener workforce. One in five full-time security screeners has been leaving the agency, according to the administration's new budget. Half of the part-time screeners have also departed.

TSA is seeking $10 million in fiscal 2007 to address what the budget calls "a high rate of attrition." The money would be used to offer extra pay, bonuses, retention allowances, college credit reimbursements and other incentives, the budget request said.

The turnover, TSA said, has driven up recruitment and training costs as the agency constantly replaces screeners who quit.

Requests for extra money to deal with staff turnover are unusual, but agencies often try to solve the problem with the help of their Cabinet secretary or the Office of Personnel Management before going to Congress.

TSA, to some extent, is not a typical federal agency. It hired more than 50,000 employees in 2002, when Congress moved to strengthen aviation safety after terrorists hijacked jetliners and slammed them into the Pentagon and World Trade Center. Concerned about the agency's size, Congress moved a year later to cut the TSA workforce.

As TSA coped with budget and management startup pains, many passenger screeners complained that managers did not listen to their suggestions, did not provide adequate training and sometimes put them at risk of injury in handling heavy luggage.

TSA's budget also asks Congress to provide $20 million to fund workers compensation payments owed to the Labor Department.

Darrin Kayser , a TSA spokesman, said the agency is working to reduce injuries. A new case management initiative has reduced the number of lost workdays from 45 per injury to 11 per injury, he said.

TSA also is trying to provide opportunities for screeners to move up in the agency or elsewhere in government, Kayser said. They have been reclassified as law enforcement officers (transportation security officer) and positions are being set aside for entry into the federal air marshal program, he said.

The agency has established an advisory council so that security screeners can provide feedback to senior TSA leaders and help develop ways of improving morale, Kayser said.

"We did have a lot of challenges, and do appreciate the patience of the workforce," he said. "We are working very hard to address issues that still exist."

The White House point person on legislation to overhaul the U.S. Postal Service, Claude A. Allen , head of the domestic policy council, resigned Wednesday, leaving the Bush administration to look for a presidential adviser to help broker a compromise bill.

On a voice vote yesterday, the Senate approved a bill sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.). The House last summer passed similar legislation, backed by Reps. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) and John M. McHugh (R-N.Y.). The Senate and House will create a joint panel to iron out differences in the two versions.

The Postal Service board of governors opposes the overhaul, saying the bills would impose "numerous burdensome provisions." The White House opposes any bill that would increase the federal deficit.

Postal lobbyists said leading contenders to replace Allen on postal issues were Roger Kodat , a deputy assistant treasury secretary; Dan Blair , deputy director at OPM, and Jess Sharp , a White House domestic policy official.

The White House said Allen had put in long hours over five years in the administration and wanted to spend more time with his family. "We will be working to name a replacement for Claude as soon as possible," said Erin Healy , a White House spokeswoman.

In a statement yesterday, Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) said the House and Senate bills would "protect postal employees' right to collective bargaining and employee benefits."

James Bamford , author of two books on the National Security Agency, will be the guest on "FEDtalk" at 11 a.m. today on http://federalnewsradio.com and WFED (1050 AM).

Dave Combs , chief information officer at the Agriculture Department, will be the guest on "The IBM Business of Government Hour" at 9 a.m. Saturday on WJFK radio (106.7 FM).

E-mail:barrs@washpost.com