Senator Warner questioned Transportation Security Administration nominee John Pistole today about complaints he’s heard from several Virginia constituents about staffing levels and TSA employee attitudes while handling security screening at the nation’s airports.

The TSA administrator position, which has been vacant for almost two years, is responsible for oversight of close to 50,000 employees who stand on the front-lines of airport security. Senator Warner told Pistole, who’s been a Deputy Director of the FBI for almost five years, that he will face " a lot of management components" to a "multidimensional challenge."

During his questioning, Senator Warner shared a recent letter he received from a constituent who shared an unpleasant experience at Dulles International Airport. The constituent wrote that he was forced to wait in the security line for over 40 minutes and that TSA officers were "surly and inappropriate," with little consideration of those waiting.

"I think most Americans realize that with the privilege of flying is the requirement of additional screening in a post-9/11 world. But that requirement can be done in a manner that doesn't have to be surly. I think one of the challenges you're going to have in this requirement is making sure that customer service ... has to be a component of your TSA officers."

He added that despite the millions of dollars spent to upgrade airports for enhanced security measures, passengers frequently encounter either understaffed facilities or rude security officers. Pistole agreed with Senator Warner and said that, if confirmed, he will work with the committee to establish metrics to gauge performance and make customer service a priority:

"I agree with all of your statements in terms of customer service has to be part of the security mission, and that oftentimes you can accomplish more through better customer service than the type of conduct that you described. If confirmed, my expectation and clear direction would be to focus on those issues."

You can watch Senator Warner's questioning below: