Sunday set a record for the number of air travelers around the country, with the Transportation Security Authority screening more than three million passengers in one day for the first time, ABC News reports. The big travel day, brought on by the end of an extended Independence Day weekend, topped the 2.99 million passengers last month on June 23rd.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas used he record day to urge Congress to approve pay increases for TSA employees, who work on a different, lower pay scale than other similar government officers. The Agency has faced recruitment and retention problems because of the pay imbalance, leading to overworked staff in some places and underserved airports in others.