US announces $10,000 bonuses for Transportation Security Administration officers

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA)— US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday praised Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers for their “outstanding patriotism and service” during the recently ended government shutdown and announced special $10,000 bonus checks for agents who continued working without pay.

Speaking at a news conference in the state of Texas, Noem reflected on the toll of the 43-day shutdown—the longest in US history—and the sacrifices made by TSA agents who maintained airport safety and security throughout the impasse.

"What I'm here talking about today is the outstanding patriotism and service of our TSA officers and officials that stepped up every single day to make sure that those individuals at our airports and at our transportation systems continued to be safe and secure," she said.

Noem said that TSA employees who demonstrated “exemplary service” during the shutdown will receive $10,000 bonus checks.

"What that means is that we are going to not only continue their paychecks like they should have received all along, but also they're going to get a bonus check for stepping up, taking on extra shifts, for showing up each and every day, for serving the American people," she added.

The Homeland Security Department is going to continue to evaluate every single employee who helped during the shutdown and stepped up and went above, she said.