A recent undercover operation from the Department of Homeland Security found airport screeners, other security equipment and Transportation Security Administration procedures failed more than half the time.
At a public hearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security Wednesday, TSA administrator David Pekoske, along with members of the Department of Homeland Security, revealed the results.
"We found that briefing disturbing," Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told CBS News.
[ >> RELATED: Survey: Airport security remains one of biggest ‘pain points’ of travel ]
Though the specifics of the operation’s results remain classified from a prior private briefing, CBS News reported the committee was told that more than 70 percent of the time, undercover agents were able to walk through TSA checkpoints with mock knives, guns and explosives.
“This agency that you run is broken badly and it needs your attention,” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Alabama) told Pekoske.
[ >> RELATED: TSA rolling out new screening rule for iPads and other large electronics ]
The DHS suggested eight classified recommendations following the operation and, according to CBS News, lawmakers and TSA officials plan to replace old check point scanners with new CT scanners, which Pekoske said are equipped with the most effective technology.
The technology, which has already been tested in TSA checkpoints in at least two airports, according to ABC News, includes 3D imaging for baggage, allowing more effective ways to spot threatening items.
[ >> RELATED: Here’s why travelers from 22 states could face conflict with domestic flights in 2018 ]
However, that investment in CT technology requires funding above what TSA currently has, Pekoske said.
“We have the technology and resources to do it, but we're not doing it because ... we're paying for a wall,” Rep. Bill Keating (D-Massachusetts) said, questioning how the agency’s funding has been diverted to build President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
[ >> RELATED: Prototypes of Trump's border wall released ]
Frank Cilluffo, former director of the Homeland Security advisory council, told CBS News that as long as terrorism is a threat at airports, “the TSA cannot be complacent.”
>> RELATED: TSA ends testing, will not screen passengers' books separately
“They're looking for vulnerabilities that can be exploited, and we need to make sure that we can push that as far as we can to minimize the risk,” he said.
[ >> RELATED: Here's why the TSA wants to see your fudge ]
TSA officials said in a statement that the agency “concurs with the DHS OIG findings and is committed to aggressively implementing the recommendations.”
The report comes just two years after a similar operation found the TSA failed
[ 95 percent ]
of its tests.
A patch is seen on the jacket of a Transportation Security Administration official as he works at the automated screening lanes funded by American Airlines and installed by the Transportation Security Administration at Miami International Airport.