Congress locks in $40K minimum for TSA officers during budget crisis
S. 4422 — WATCH Personnel Act of 2026 · Filed by Ben Luján (D-NM) · Introduced Apr 28, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill ensures the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) can pay its employees during a budget lapse starting February 14, 2026. It sets a minimum annual salary of $40,000 for TSA officers, adjusts that salary annually for inflation, and provides a one-time $10,000 bonus to all TSA officers working on February 14, 2026. The bill appropriates whatever money is needed to cover these costs until a full budget is passed or September 30, 2026, whichever comes first.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to appropriate emergency funds to pay TSA employees during a budget lapse and establish a wage floor. This is a straightforward continuing appropriations measure with an embedded pay-raise component.
What the text implies
- The $10,000 bonus is explicitly excluded from retirement and benefit calculations, limiting its long-term cost to the government but also preventing officers from building retirement security through this payment.
- The bill's retroactive effective date (February 13, 2026) means it covers a period that may have already occurred by the time of enactment, creating potential accounting and payroll complications.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
Transportation Security Administration employees (federal workforce)