Pay TSA Act: 'I Don't Support Shutdowns.' Three in Six Months Tell a More Complex Story.

Government Funding / Labor Source: Facebook Posts CONTRADICTION

Why This Matters for NY-23

TSA agents screen passengers at Buffalo Niagara International Airport every day. Three times in the past six months, those workers have reported to work without pay. Rep. Langworthy’s new Pay TSA Act of 2026 acknowledges that pattern and proposes a structural fix. But his claim that he “doesn’t support government shutdowns” — made while introducing a bill premised on their continued occurrence — runs directly into his own voting record and three consecutive funding lapses under unified Republican government.

The Statements

Source 1: Facebook post (March 21, 2026):

“Today, I announced the introduction of my bill, the Pay TSA Act of 2026. Our TSA agents are on the front lines of our national security, and they deserve our respect and support. This commonsense fix will take an existing airline fund & allow it to be used for personnel costs in the event of a shutdown. It’s essential to our security, it’s essential for our workforce, and it’s the right thing to do.”

Source 2: Facebook post (March 21, 2026):

“I dont support government shutdowns, but My Pay TSA Act will ensure that our hardworking TSA agents can continue to get paid when they happen. This is a simple, common sense fix to right this wrong and ensure our skies remain safe.”

Accompanying House GOP graphic: “TSA OFFICERS HAVE BEEN FORCED TO WORK WITHOUT PAY FOR 43% OF FY 2026” — illustrated with crossed-out calendar days from October 2025 through March 2026.

What the Pay TSA Act Actually Does

The bill creates a Transportation Security Trust Fund financed by the Aviation Passenger Security Fee — the $5.60 per one-way trip (up to $11.20 round-trip) passengers already pay for airport security. Under the bill, that fund would first cover TSA personnel costs, with remaining funds available for aviation security infrastructure and technology upgrades.

Why this problem exists: Congress has routinely diverted aviation security fee revenue away from TSA and into general deficit reduction since the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. The fee passengers pay specifically for airport security has been swept into the broader federal budget through multiple bipartisan budget agreements. The Pay TSA Act would stop that diversion — redirecting fees to their stated purpose.

What the bill does not do: It creates a mechanism to pay TSA workers during future shutdowns. It does not prevent future shutdowns from occurring.

Claim 1: “I Don’t Support Government Shutdowns”

Verdict: CONTRADICTION

This is at least the third time in six months Langworthy has made a version of this statement. Each time, context has complicated the claim.

His Voting Record

December 19, 2024: Langworthy voted NO on H.R. 10545, a continuing resolution that would have prevented a government shutdown. The bill passed 366–34 and the government stayed open despite his no vote.

His stated reason: “I always believed it’s critical that we do our job to keep the government open… But that doesn’t mean signing off on a bloated spending bill.”

That is a conditional position, not an absolute one — he opposes shutdowns unless the bill funding government contains spending he objects to.

His earlier claim that he has “always” been opposed to shutdowns was rated FALSE by this site in February. See: Shutdown Statement: Multiple Misleading Claims About Democrats, ICE, and His Own Record.

The FY2026 Shutdown Record

Langworthy’s own House GOP graphic makes the damage plain: TSA officers worked without pay for 43% of the days elapsed in FY2026. Three separate funding lapses account for this:

ShutdownDatesDurationCause
Government-wideOctober 1 – November 12, 202543 daysSenate Democrats blocked House CRs; government-wide
DHS-only lapse~January 30 – February 3, 2026~4 daysSenate Democrats blocked DHS bill over Minneapolis accountability demands
DHS-only lapse (ongoing)February 14, 2026 – present35+ daysSenate Democrats continue to block DHS funding

Langworthy voted YES on the November 2025 bill that ended the 43-day shutdown and supported subsequent DHS funding bills that Senate Democrats blocked. On the FY2026 votes, his position is more consistent with his stated opposition to shutdowns than his December 2024 vote was.

What he doesn’t say: The Democratic demands driving the two DHS-specific lapses followed the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis — context Langworthy’s posts omit entirely. See: DHS Shutdown Claim During Operation Epic Fury and Minneapolis Shooting: Renee Good.

Claim 2: The Pay TSA Act Is a Real Fix

Verdict: PARTIALLY TRUE — with important context

The bill addresses a genuine structural problem: aviation security fees are being diverted from their stated purpose, and TSA workers bear the financial and professional cost of that diversion and shutdown politics.

What the bill would accomplish:

  • TSA workers would be paid during future government shutdowns
  • ~50,000 TSA officers and their families would have financial stability during political standoffs
  • Attrition driven by shutdown-related financial stress would likely decrease

What it doesn’t address:

  • The shutdowns themselves. Workers would be paid, but callouts, morale damage, and operational disruptions would continue
  • The aviation security fee diversion was created by Congress in bipartisan budget agreements. Langworthy has not publicly opposed that practice before this shutdown
  • No mechanism requires lenders or government to prevent future lapses — the bill normalizes shutdowns as a manageable condition rather than eliminating them

In plain language: This bill improves the response to a recurring problem without fixing the problem. TSA workers would be better off. Travelers and national security would still face the instability of shutdown-related callouts and attrition — just without the added pressure of unpaid workers.

The Scale of the Attrition Crisis

By the numbers, from Langworthy’s own statements and DHS data:

MetricFigure
TSA officers currently working without pay~50,000
TSA officers who have quit due to FY2026 shutdowns350–366 (as of March 2026)
Highest single-day callout rate (Houston Hobby, March 14)55%
Times TSA has worked without pay in FY20263
Share of FY2026 elapsed without TSA pay (per Langworthy’s own graphic)43%

The Political Framing

Both posts blame the shutdown on Democrats — consistent with Langworthy’s statements throughout the DHS funding dispute. The two DHS-specific lapses (January and February 2026) were directly triggered by Democratic demands for ICE accountability following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

What neither post mentions:

  • Langworthy’s December 2024 no vote on a CR that would have prevented a shutdown
  • The congressional history of diverting aviation security fees into general deficit reduction — a practice Republicans have supported in budget negotiations
  • Whether Langworthy has pushed for any structural reforms to prevent future shutdowns, beyond managing their financial consequences
  • His silence as DOGE cut approximately 1,000 CISA employees — degrading the DHS cybersecurity mission that the shutdown putatively threatens — before the shutdown began

Questions This Raises

  1. If Langworthy “doesn’t support government shutdowns,” why did he vote against a CR in December 2024 that would have kept the government open?

  2. The aviation security fee has been diverted to deficit reduction through bipartisan budget agreements. Has Langworthy previously opposed those diversions?

  3. The Pay TSA Act ensures workers are paid during shutdowns but doesn’t prevent shutdowns. Is normalizing shutdown finance a step forward, or does it reduce the political cost of allowing future shutdowns to occur?

  4. Langworthy describes the Democratic position as purely obstructionist. The DHS-specific shutdowns were triggered by demands for accountability after federal agents shot two U.S. citizens. Why are those killings absent from his framing?

Sources

Note: This entry documents publicly available information from official agency data, congressional vote records, news organizations, and the representative’s own statements. Readers may draw their own conclusions.

Last updated: March 21, 2026