TSA plans VIPR expansion

Our favorite government entity, the TSA, is expanding.

We've discussed the VIPR teams before.
They've been expanding their operations. From the LA Times:

According to budget documents, the department spent $110 million in fiscal 2011 for "surface transportation security," including the TSA's viper program, and is asking for an additional $24 million next year. That compares with more than $5 billion for aviation security. 

TSA officials say they have no proof that the roving viper teams have foiled any terrorist plots or thwarted any major threat to public safety. But they argue that the random nature of the searches and the presence of armed officers serve as a deterrent and bolster public confidence. 

"We have to keep them [terrorists] on edge," said Frank Cilluffo, director of the Homeland Security Policy Institute atGeorge Washington University in Washington. "We're not going to have a permanent presence everywhere."

 So in the name of keeping the terrorists on edge, the TSA is routinely stopping people in dramatic shows of concern for "security."
  With the cute motto of "Your safety is our priority"! we can be sure that that's true, particularly no that the TSA is unionized.
  The TSA touts the accomplishments of its "everyday heroes," who roam the streets and even save people who collapse from heart attacks!
  Tennessee is a primary center for VIPR activity.
  Think you're safe because you're in your car?
  Not so much.
  And then there's more.

So it is not too far-fetched to believe the TSA could determine highway travel is another type of travel that needs to be monitored, although it could prove to be a logistical nightmare. There are thousands of trucks stops around the country. 

Although you may encounter TSA on the highways one day, rest assured, there is one place the TSA has no intentions (at least not yet) of going: 

"We are not getting into the business of body cavity searches," Pistole said back in 2010. "That's not where we are."

  Regardless where they are right now,they're expanding their operations and asking for a 50% budget increase in 2012. 
  Because that's what government entities do.
  They expand.