Better Than a Suggestion Box

Being the new chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee hasn't gone to Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson's head. In fact, it's prompted him to become even more of a man of the people: He's offering his own kind of whistle-blower protection for the Transportation Security Agency. The oft-traveling lawmaker gives TSA screeners his personal E-mail address and encourages them to reveal all. "They come in on my BlackBerry," he says. Thompson says he is particularly drawn to tsa screeners because they don't have whistle-blower protections and they're not allowed to join unions. "I want to hear from employees about what's going on in the field." Thompson says one E-mail came in late on Sunday night, and he responded "right after we were done watching the Super Bowl."

With Dan Gilgoff, Linda Robinson, Angie C. Marek, and Suzi Parker