$4.5 billion was collected in fees by the Transportation Security Administration of the United States in 2025. Why are its agents not getting paid during the partial shutdown of the federal government? The Passenger Fee — which is also known as the September …
$4.5 Billion Collected. Why Are They Not Getting Paid?
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) collected $4.5 billion in passenger fees in 2025, yet Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) and federal employees were unpaid during a federal government partial shutdown due to improper budget allocation and administrative failures. The shutdown exposed systemic vulnerabilities in federal funding mechanisms, directly impacting 45,000+ TSA employees and disrupting air travel security operations nationwide.