From Government Executive:
The House on Monday passed legislation that responds to issues flagged by watchdogs about oversight of contract security guards at federal buildings.
The Personnel Oversight and Shift Tracking Act of 2025 (H.R. 3425), approved 402-0, would require the Federal Protective Service, which is responsible for guarding more than 8,500 facilities [including Social Security offices], to “establish processes to strengthen oversight, performance and accountability of contract security personnel.”
Specifically, it would task FPS with developing a standardized process for collecting and analyzing the results of covert security tests when the employees don’t know that they’re being evaluated and mandating contract security companies to provide corrective training to any personnel who fail such tests.
The Government Accountability Office in March reported that contract guards who screen individuals entering federal buildings failed to detect prohibited items (e.g. baton, pepper spray) in about half of covert tests that its investigators conducted. GAO also analysed nearly 500 such evaluations performed by FPS between 2020 and 2023 and found that roughly half of the time the contract security did not notice the prohibited item. ...
Let's be safe but let's not get carried away. I've met guards who did everything but a cavity search.
