Sponsor
The bill provides immediate pay boosts, a pay floor with CPI indexing, and short‑term funding protections for TSOs and TSA operations—improving worker income, retention, and operational continuity—at the cost of higher near‑term and potentially ongoing federal spending, reduced budget flexibility, and some administrative complexity.
Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) will receive a guaranteed minimum salary of $40,000 in FY2026 with automatic annual CPI‑U cost‑of‑living adjustments thereafter, giving them a pay floor and protecting purchasing power.
TSA employees (including TSOs) will continue to receive standard pay and benefits during a funding gap beginning Feb 14, 2026, preventing immediate pay disruptions and financial hardship for the workforce.
TSOs and air travelers will benefit from higher and more predictable pay because improved compensation is likely to boost workforce retention and staffing continuity at airports, strengthening security and service reliability.
Taxpayers will face increased federal spending from higher TSO base pay, CPI indexing, one‑time bonuses, and extended funding availability, raising near‑term and ongoing budgetary costs.
The automatic CPI indexing of TSO pay could lock in rising personnel costs and reduce budget flexibility for TSA and DHS during periods of high inflation, while the limited waiver authority (only for increases under 1%) offers little short‑term relief.
TSOs receiving the $10,000 bonus will not see that amount counted toward basic pay for retirement or life insurance, so the payment does not increase long‑term retirement or life‑insurance benefits.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Guarantees a $40,000 TSO minimum salary for FY2026, CPI-U annual indexing thereafter, and provides temporary funds to maintain TSA pay and pay a $10,000 one-time bonus to TSOs as of Feb 14, 2026.
Representative · D-NJ
Official title: Making continuing appropriations for essential Transportation Security Administration pay and operations during the lapse in appropriations beginning on February 14, 2026, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 19, 2026 by Nellie Pou · Last progress May 19, 2026
Sets a minimum annual salary for Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) at $40,000 for FY2026 and requires annual CPI-U-based increases thereafter, and provides emergency appropriations to preserve TSA pay and benefits and to pay TSOs a one-time $10,000 bonus in mid-February 2026. The pay adjustments are indexed to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers and the bonus is excluded from retirement and other basic-pay benefits. Makes the temporary funding authority available until a regular appropriation for those purposes is enacted or September 30, 2026, and treats the law as if it took effect on February 13, 2026 so amounts can be paid beginning February 14, 2026 during any FY2026 funding gap.