Full Body Scanners Feature Prominently in DHS's 2012 Budget Request

Earlier this month, the TSA announced another measure it hopes will quash any remaining privacy concerns.  Two weeks ago, the TSA deployed a software tool at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport that replaces the anatomically correct images of a passenger with a generic outline that looks like a gingerbread man. The pilot program is also slated to arrive at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport "in the very near future," according to the TSA Blog.

If the pilot program goes as planned, TSA will be able to eliminate the remote screener who scans the image for threats since there will no longer be any privacy concerns.

Overall, the White House's 2012 budget request for the DHS is $43.2 billion in discretionary spending, an increase of $309 million over what was enacted in 2010.

♦ Photo of generic body scan image by TSA Blog