$3M in loose change collected from airports may help fund US border operations: report
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is reportedly turning to an unconventional source to raise funds that may be needed to finance U.S. border operations – loose change.
NBC News reported on Tuesday that $3 million worth of change left in trays at airports is one funding source that may be put toward the $232 million requested by the Department of Homeland Security from the TSA in the event that President Trump’s request for $1.1 billion from Congress is not granted.
In emails viewed by the news outlet, other potential sources of funding include $50 million that TSA planned to use for advanced airport screening equipment, $64 million that was expected to be put toward a worker’s compensation fund for injured employees, as well as a potential cut to the number of officers who run security screenings.
It is unclear whether the plan has been approved, though TSA was reportedly supposed to submit potential programs that could be cut by the end of last week.
A spokesperson for agency did not immediately return FOX Business’ request for comment.
In the documents obtained by NBC News, an official for the TSA said that since the agency was not “over-funded by $232 million” in fiscal 2019, programs could be “broken if funding is reduced.”
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President Trump asked for $1.1 billion in funds for border operations earlier this month, part of a larger $4.5 billion request to address a spike in illegal immigration. None of those funds were expected to be put toward the construction of a border wall.
Some TSA employees are being sent to the U.S.-Mexico border to help stem the flow of immigrants, though the agency said less than 1 percent of its 60,000 employees would be affected.